


Seduce Me: The Fall (S)

by Mysterie



Series: Seduce Me [5]
Category: Seduce Me the Otome (video game)
Genre: F/M, Follows_Sam_route, follows_game_play
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-18
Updated: 2016-10-22
Packaged: 2018-08-15 19:56:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 37,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8070619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mysterie/pseuds/Mysterie
Summary: Mika Crosstar has to impress her guests and her parents at an impromptu housewarming party the evening after she'd moved into the house, that had belong to her late grandfather who had only just passed away two days prior. As if having unexpected house guests in the form of the incubi brothers and being forced into moving in wasn't enough; with the end of the party, Mika thinks she can take a breather until the one that attacked the brother shows up at her front door! Will her life ever be any resemblance of normal? At the end of the day, when it's all said and done.... does she want it to be? Knowing that if she says yes to that question... the boys will walk out of her life forever...





	1. Sam

Sam. Despite the rather rough and ... rude meeting at the start, there was something that had made her look twice at him. She had seen a glimpse of something else when he had apologized, there was more to Sam than simply the image that he was giving the world, she was sure of it but to actually be certain of this she would need to take the time to get closer to him. She walked out into the front yard to find that Sam wasn’t cleaning, but doing slow motions with his hands and arms. She could tell he was doing tai chi, a form of martial arts that she had learned a bit of previously, aside from taekwondo. She crossed her arms and glared a bit at him, why was he doing this instead of cleaning like they’d all agreed to do? 

“Aren’t we supposed to be cleaning the front yard?” 

“You were taking too long. I already finished cleaning.” 

“Wha-?” She swore that it had only taken her a few minutes to make up her mind... He couldn’t have done all that before she got out here... could he have? She looked around, sure enough, the windows were polished, all the weeds had been pulled from the sidewalk and tossed into a garbage can, the lamps were wiped down and the stairs were swept clean. Even the driveway all the way around was clear of any weeds or debris of any kind. He really  **had** finished despite that they had literally disbanded a mere few minutes ago. 

“Wow. You work fast.” He didn’t respond; instead he kept his eyes closed and continued his tai chi movements. For a guy who wanted to be a badass, she would have imagined him doing hard workouts or karate for practice. Tai chi was definitely not what she had expected out of him, while it's movements could be incredibly hard to pull off at times, it was a work out that was completely different in its difficulty than something like karate. As there was nothing for her to clean, she just stood there a moment, wonder what to do. Well... she did need to brush up a bit on her tai chi... so why not? She didn’t say anything as she moved beside him and began to move along with his movements. He was going slow so it was easy to follow along.

“What are you doing?” He asked after a moment, as if he thought she couldn’t do something like this.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” She replied back evenly. 

“Hmph. This isn’t supposed to be fun, okay? It’s actually supposed to be difficult.” What? Did he think she was just all about fun? 

“I know.” She replied simply and left it at that. He was going to think whatever he was going to think. As it was, if anyone did try something when she was away from the house it wouldn’t hurt to brush up on her own tai chi to help her fight back against them. Sam opened an eye to look at her without breaking his motions before closing it and continuing. She followed along flawlessly, keeping to his speed with her own movements; it was very relaxing... maybe too relaxing because she let her concentration slip and tripped over her own feet moments later only to land on top of Sam. 

“Oof! H-hey! Watch it!” She flushed in embarrassment. 

“S-sorry!” She’d landed straight on top of him, having knocked them both to the ground and straight into the grass; she found herself staring eye to eye with him. Neither of them could stop blushing, nor did either of them move from the ground; in that moment she could hear her heart pound against his chest. Sam didn’t move a muscle, he just stared up at her in embarrassment like he’d been the one caught slipping up. She eventually found the will, some how, to get up off him and brush herself off; a large blush on her face. Sam sat up and rubbed his head. 

“Man... watch where you’re going next time.” She nodded as he stood up and looked at her for a moment. She smiled, she swore she could see in his eyes that he was concerned about whether or not she was okay though he refused to actually ask. She walked back into the house without a word, the sound of his sigh reaching her ears before she was out of earshot.  Before she knew it, the hour of the house party had arrived. In her mind, she kept double and triple checking the essentials for the party. Knowing her father, he’d invited his business partners and the executives of the Anderson Company to show her off like some trophy. Not that it would be the first time he’d done so, but she hated that he did. Her thoughts went right back to her reflection though, which stood in front of her; she was staring at her own form as a million thoughts race through her mind. It was just a housewarming party, but at the same time... it wasn’t. It was her chance to show her father that she was better than his expectations. A chance for her parents to see her as a woman. A test to see if she was ready to live on her own. Well, she wasn’t truly alone; she had the incubi to thank for that, but even so. She didn’t have her father guiding her or her mother helping her through living alone. A knock on her door broke her thoughts, surprising her. 

“Who is it?” 

“Hey, are you okay in there? Your parents should be here soon, so you should hurry getting ready.” Right... Naomi and Suzu had arrived early to support her. 

“Well, I’m ready but-” 

“But what? I’m sure you look fine, Mika. Just come on out!” Suzu interrupted. 

“Alright...” As soon as she opened the door to the hall, she watched her friends’ face turn from smiles to complete awestruck stares at the dress she had chosen. It was a shoulder dress, leaving her shoulders bare but covering her modestly even as there were sleeves that hung just below her shoulders and it draped elegantly over her form to her ankles, it was like a dark crimson curtain that gently hugged her figure. She wore a string of spaced out pearls around her neck and her shoes matched her dress in color. Naomi had chosen to wear a dress that had no sleeves at all and almost seemed like something a younger girl would wear as it was frilly, even if it stopped halfway down her thighs, the white ribbon beneath her chest was tied in a bow and only gave the impression - in Mika’s mind, that it was a dress caught between being adult and being childish. She also wore a headband that matched the bow on her dress, a small bow decorated one side of the headband. Suzu, ever the tomboy, had come in a white shirt and black pants, a neon green coat covered the shirt. A jade necklace around her neck matched the jacket she wore, giving her a sort of odd elegance as it was certainly a mix between dressing like a guy but the jewelry was definitely a sign of the girl within.  

“W-what?” 

“Dude, you look hot.” As if she needed more of a reason for the blush already on her face...

“Yeah! You look amazing!! Where did you get that dress?” 

“I’ve had it for a while. I just never had the chance to wear it. I figured I might as well bring it out now.” She smiled, glad that her friends approved of it. That was only half the truth though, the boys hadn’t seen her in a dress yet; she wanted to see their reactions.  _ If I’m being truthful though... there’s only one whose reaction I truly wish to see... _


	2. The Parents

Mika closed the door of her room behind her as she stepped out. As she walked down the hall to the grand lobby, the incubi were waiting for her at the bottom. All of them dressed to the nines as proper servants, each was a little different though, as if to suit their various personalities. While each was dressed in a tuxedo, James had a gold vest beneath his jacket that peeked out, Sam had a green waistband, Damien didn’t wear any color at all other than what seemed to be the normal tuxedo, Matthew had a bright blue vest... similar to James’ style, but it was Erik who drew her eyes the longest... if only for a mere fraction of a second. He stood out the most really with his shirt being a dark maroon beneath the jacket.  The vest complimented his him, without detracting from the rest of the tuxedo, despite standing out in color the silk seemed to suit him to magnificently. Still, she couldn’t help the blush that covered her face as Naomi spoke up behind her.

“Whoa!! They really know how to dress well, don’t they?” 

“Yeah....” She tried not to make it obvious that she was looking directly at Erik as her blush seemed to only deepen. She was slightly taken aback at how great the boys looked in uniform; each had the poise of a perfect gentleman, even Sam. They seemed to watch her as she made her way slowly down steps with Naomi and Suzu following her. She felt as if they were knights awaiting their princess, her. It didn’t help the flush on her cheeks, but she shook herself to try and regain her thoughts and be rid of such a ridiculous notion. She was no princess, despite Erik calling her one, and the boys before her were not knights. James stepped forward to take her hand and walked her down the final step with a smile.

“As beautiful as a princess, miss.”  _ Ah... not helping... but thanks James. _ Instead of saying what she thought she smiled.

“Thank you.” 

“So, are you prepared for tonight?” Honestly?

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” There was no denying her nerves, which were on edge about the entire thing, but she had to try. The party was more than what it seemed and she’d done all that she could to prepare for it in what little time her father had actually given her. Now, it was all up to fate. At least it seemed that way. She just hoped she could get through the night without fumbling for answers; there was no doubt in her mind that there would be questions coming from the company members attending. The other boys smiled assuringly at her, which made her feel a little better about everything and reminded her that she wasn’t really alone in this. She looked at her phone; almost as if on cue, the doorbell rang. She gulped, knowing that it was her parents; she could practically feel her father’s aura from behind the door. Sam and Erik rushed to the doors, opening the double doors wide to reveal her parents, both who were dressed in their best. Her father in the same tux he had worn to her grandfather’s funeral and her mother was in an elegant midnight blue dress that was modest, but still elegant.

“Hey mom. Hey dad.” 

“Oh my! I didn’t know your bequeathment came with servants....” 

“It was probably overlooked. Besides, who would deny good service?” Mika was completely shocked; her parents  **didn’t** questions the boys?! They didn’t ask for some type of verification or anything?!? She glanced to Sam and Erik, noticing that they were staring intently at her parents. Were they using their powers on them? Was that something they could do? She decided that it had to be. He rule had only been in terms of hurting guests, but in this case it was in a sort of self-defense... There was no way her parents would be okay with this otherwise.

“I guess the servants counted as belongings to the house.” She really did NOT want to hear that from her father. The boys weren’t possessions! How could he think such a thing?  _ Ugh... dad! Then again... he always did think less of those in positions below him... _ She sighed inwardly; at least it meant that the two weren’t going to cause any problems and likely any of the others who arrived wouldn’t question the boys either; likely assuming that they were hired servants, just as they seemed to act. Mika didn’t have much time to think on that though as her mother rushed to give her a big hug; she hugged her back and could smell perfume on her. It had only been a couple of days, but living away from the people who had raised her was hard. Her mother released her and took a step back to look at Mika’s attire. 

“Gorgeous. You look so lovely. David, look at your daughter and tell her I’m right.” Mika looked to her father, who was looking around the lobby like an inspector. She stood her ground, waiting for him to look at her as her mother had said to. When he did, he let a small smile grace his lips.

“Your mother’s right. You look like you’re all grown up.” The world around her seemed to stop as her heart pounded hard in her chest; had her dad just... complimented her? On his own accord? Her mother was grinning ear to ear at her husband’s words. She was beyond speechless for a moment, a blush on her cheeks, but soon that faded as she smiled and the world seemed to continue to go on again.

“Thank you, dad.” That was exactly what she’d been hoping for right? For her parents to see that she was now a young woman and not a child; however, his cold face quickly returned as he began to look around once again at everything. She wondered if he hated this place simply for the fact that it had once been her grandfather’s home. 

“I assume that you’re ready, then, to impress the rest of the guests, correct?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“The entire board from Anderson Toys is coming tonight. Even the Vice-Chairman’s son will be coming. All of them will be measuring your potential.” 

“My potential?” What ideas had he filled their heads with? 

“To become CEO of the company.”  _ Of course... I should have known.... _ She knew that something had been off about this party; it had become more than she’d anticipated. Gulping silently, she nodded in response before glancing over to the incubi, but they seemed too busy being ‘servants’ for her father’s approval to offer any reassurance like they had before. Not that she faulted them for the act, but even just a hint of assurance would have been nice. She glanced behind her to Naomi and Suzu who raised their thumbs at her for encouragement, causing her to let out a small breath as she felt herself accept the situation. She felt like a weight had been consumed and now settled in her gut, but she knew she had to hide it. As if time zoomed forward, all of the sudden the main hall of the lobby was full of guests; men and women in formal or business attire who showed up to meet her and see her new home. She didn’t expect many to come, but she was once again surprised that night as there was quite the crowd. She shook hands with many officials and executive members, putting on the professional face her dad had trained her to have all her life; she felt overwhelmed, but she hid it well behind a small smile and a handshake. Many even asked her questions and she did her best to reply as maturely as possible; she had to remember: say what they want to hear, not what you want to say.


	3. The Shindig

Not that remembering that made it any easier to answer the questions that seemed to come at a rapid pace at times. It seemed that someone always had a question for her, whether it was about her future plans or about the company. Mika had to respond easily even while thinking fast about what it was each person wanted to hear rather than what she wished to say. She’d felt like the questions just came up one after the other, the ones that were the toughest to answer weren’t about herself, but the company. After what seemed like a long string of answering various things, eventually the questions stopped and she was able to go back to being herself. Naomi and Suzu mingled through the crowds while the incubi did their “jobs” of being servants; she was all alone in a room full of strangers. It was unnerving to think about, but at least she wasn’t being questioned left and right anymore, being required to give answers that were half truths or not even true at all. Suddenly Mika saw her mother push her way through the crowd to her, bringing along someone that she didn’t know, a young man who looked to be around her age with sandy blonde hair and kind golden brown eyes.

“Honey, I’d like to introduce you to someone! This kind gentleman is the son of the Vice-Chairman.”  From what she could see, he was likely only a couple years older than she, herself, was. He held out his hand to her, silently asking for her hand with a smile. 

“Hi, I’m Andrew Lewis. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Crosstar.” She took his hand with a smile of her own. Instead of giving a handshake, however, he raised her hand to his lips and placed a kiss over her knuckles. She felt her face burn slightly at the gesture; Andrew smiled at her before releasing her hand. 

“I’m honored to be invited here.” Her mother smiled at the both of them, which made Mika slightly concerned. Why was she excited to introduce her to Andrew? 

“So, um... you organized this party very well, Ms. Anderson.”

“Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome. Praise is very much deserved.” He then chuckled nervously, bringing a soft fist up to his lips to cover his laugh properly before smiling at her. 

“I’m sorry if I seem a little forward, haha. I’ve just been excited to meet Harold Anderson’s granddaughter.”  _ Is that all I am to everyone here? Just “Harold Anderson’s granddaughter” ?  _ Still, she was curious as to why he seemed so eager to meet her. Why anyone was really.

“Huh? Why?” 

“He used to talk about you all the time in the office on how you helped him refine his toys. I only attended meetings and heard all of the stories. You’ve helped a lot with the success of the company without having to actually work there, haha!”  _ I did?  _

“Oh, wow... I didn’t know he talked about me...” That explained everyone’s fascination with her and the rather personal questions. She looked at Andrew, who showed a kind face in return; something about him seemed off and she didn’t know what it was. He seemed to be hiding something. Whether it was good or bad, but she was not able to find out because her father chose at that moment to appear, much to her annoyance. She glanced over her shoulder at him, he was giving Andrew his cold stare and she could see that Andrew was suddenly tense because of it. 

“So, you’re Jared’s son?” Had she a knife to cut air with... she’d be able to as thick as the tension suddenly became; not to mention almost frigid. Why did her father have to do that with everyone who was around her? Andrew seemed to twitch slightly; whether it was fear or insult she wasn’t sure as he locked eyes with her father. She couldn’t help but feel the tension grow between them. It irked her just how fragile the air had become so suddenly, enough to break at a single wrong word. 

“You’re the one who wants to be the next CEO of the Anderson company?” That question annoyed her to no end.

“Well...” Yet she waited to see what Andrew would say to such a blatant question. This guy wanted to take her grandfather’s place as CEO? She had thought that the Vice-Chairmen wanted the position... or was it that he was being pushed towards it like she was? 

“David, leave the poor boy alone.” Mika felt some relief in that she wasn’t the only one irritated by her father’s choice of words; especially at his response.

“I’m merely testing the boy’s conversational skills. Nothing wrong with that.”  _ No, but you’re practically accusing him of wanting to be the CEO, the same position you’re forcing ME into! _ She fumed inwardly. 

“Of course not, sir.” 

“And polite as well. Interesting.” Interesting? Could he  **be** any more insulting?!

“I-if you’ll excuse me...” He quickly retreated from her parents into the crowd of people. Feeling ashamed, annoyed and angered by her father, Mika quickly followed him, wanting to be sure that he was alright. She felt a little embarrassed that her father had put him on the spot like that. She at least felt she needed to apologize. It was her party after all, he’d had no right to do that. They wound up outside. The stars danced on the grass as they stood in the backyard of the mansion. It had been her first time in years being out there, but her thoughts were on the nostalgia of the moment. 

“Hey, Andrew?” He turned to her in surprise; however, his face was completely red in embarrassed humiliation; she felt even worse. 

“Oh, I- um... I didn’t see you or hear you following. Sorry.” 

“No, no, it's fine. I should be the one to apologize.” 

“What for? You didn’t do anything wrong.” 

“I mean for the way my dad behaved... He shouldn’t have been so...” What was the right word? 

“Oh no! No, it’s fine! I mean... I should have expected it and been more prepared, haha!” He rubbed the back of his neck and gave her a goofy grin, not too unlike the one Matthew had given her earlier that evening. It was intriguing, seeing Andrew’s professional side and then seeing a goofy smile, away from everyone else. 

“Still, I’m sorry for that.” She felt she needed to say that, he seemed like he had a good heart. 

“It’s not a problem, really, but thank you.” The two of them smiled at each other before she reached out her hand to him. He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow in confusion. 

“Mika. My name is Mika.” Understanding replaced the confusion quickly and his smile returned before he took her hand and gently shook it. 

“That’s a pretty name. I’m happy to know it now.” 

“Nah, it’s not that nice.” 

“I have to disagree with you. It’s much better than ‘Andrew.’ I mean, who names their kid Andrew?” 

“A lot of people do!” 

“But what about ‘Axel’? Or ‘Ace’? Something cool like that?” She couldn’t help but laugh; he was pretty chill for a guy who was supposed to be a Vice-Chairman’s son. He grinned and laughed along with her. She didn’t know why, but she felt warm. Whether it was the almost non-existent breeze or the sudden situation they found themselves in... It felt... nice.

“Lewis.” The sound of her father’s voice startled her, and just like that, the feeling had vanished. They both turned to see her father at the doors of the mansion, staring at Andrew with what looked like a deadly glare... if looks could kill. Andrew straightened up, trying to maintain a business posture. 

“Y-yes sir?” 

“Your limo is in the front. The driver has requested that you return home. Now.” 

“Oh. A-alright. Thank you, sir.” Andrew quickly nodded to her before speeding back into the mansion to leave. As she took a step to follow him, her father stepped in front of her to block her way.  

“Dad...”  _ Now _ what was he doing? 

“I don’t want to hear it. Do not become friendly with him. He wants to take the company away from us. You have no reason to be friends with him.” Before she could retort, he turned away and walked back inside, muttering about how the party was nearing an end. That didn’t stop her from glaring daggers into his back. Since when did he have the right to tell her who she could and couldn’t become friends with! She didn’t care if Andrew wanted the company, he was at least  _ nice _ about it! He’d treated her like a person, like the boys had, not like some trophy doll to dress up, show off to others like a prize and push into a life she might not even want without as much as a ‘by your leave’! She couldn’t remember being quite so angry with him at any time before her grandfather had passed. 


	4. The Idiot

With a sigh, she entered the house as well, wanting the party to end immediately; she was sick of her father already and it had only been a couple of hours. Eventually only Suzu, Naomi, her parents, and the incubi were left. Her father walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder with a smile; she stared up at him, a wave of confusion washing over her face. 

“What?” 

“You did good tonight. I’m proud.” 

“O-oh! ... Thank you, dad.” 

“Keep it up and you’ll be a good CEO.” 

“Oh... right.”  _ Not that again.... _

“Alright. Your mother and I have to leave. I’m sure Naomi and Suzu need to leave as well. Just because it’s Saturday doesn’t mean you should stay up all night.”  _ After all  _ this...  _ hardly my plan. _

“O-oh! Right!” Not like she could ever say her thoughts aloud to her father, that would go poorly. Naomi walked over to her first.

“Thanks for having us! It was a great party.” 

“We’ll come visit tomorrow or something, alright?” 

“Right. See ya!” She smiled as her friends moved to the door.

“Goodnight, sweetie. Come visit us soon.” 

“Will do.” All four of them left the building, all but her father waving back to her. With the last of the guests gone, Mika sighed and sat on the staircase, exhausted. The incubi gathered over near her. 

“Phew... That was tiring...” 

“It’s not like you had to do any work, though.” Of course Sam would say that. 

“Give her a break, man. She was getting interrogated left and right!”  _ Thanks Matthew... _

“She handled herself the best she could.” Damien added.

“As expected, princess.” She couldn’t help but smile at that.

“Since you’re exhausted, why not head to bed? We can clean up.”

“Ughhhh!!!” 

“Hush, Sam.” Erik gently rebuked him. 

“Are you guys sure?” 

“Positive. It shouldn’t take long!” Matthew always did seem the most upbeat of them, his smile was infectious. 

“Oh-ho-ho! It didn’t take long to find you little shits, after all!” Her mouth dropped open in surprise... she knew that voice! It appeared the boys did as well. She felt a hot shudder go down her spine; it was the voice from her dreams! She looked around, panicked, alongside the incubi. James place a hand on her shoulder, trying to remain calm. 

“Don’t worry. No one will hurt you.” He said evenly.

“Are you sure? Are you  _ really _ sure?” Their heads shot towards the doors, finally pinning down the direction of the voice. The doors swung open quickly, revealing a sight Mika would never have expected to see. A young man stood, skin red as blood, black and gold eyes piercing into hers from beneath a mop of white hair, roughened-up clothes and a pistol in his hand; she saw a monster. A hand covered her mouth so not to scream at the sight. Dried blood covered the red bandana round his neck as he smirked at the group. Beside him was a similar looking woman in matching thug-like clothes with red eyes beneath flame-like hair.

“Awww, what’s the matter, boys? You really didn’t think I wouldn’t find you, did you?” 

“I hoped you would, you piece of-” Sam didn’t get a chance to finish as the man raised his gun at Sam’s face and instantly pulled the trigger. A shot rang out through the air, everyone gasped in shock, expecting to see a bullet run through Sam’s face... but... 

“Wha... What the fuck?!” Nothing had happened. 

“W-wha...” Sam was just as shocked as everyone else. Why hadn’t the gun worked? What should have been a headshot ended with a loud, but empty blank shot. The pistol echoed it's empty shots as the man grew more and more pissed, pulling the trigger over and over in aggravation. Luckily, for Mika’s ears, it became quieter after the first shot. 

“Why the fuck won’t you work?!” 

“This place is protected.” Damien spoke up. 

“What did you say, shrimp?!” 

“This place has a seal, protecting it from Hell-borne magic.” 

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!” Mika thought about it a moment, she didn’t fully understand herself, but she sort of grasped the idea. Sort of like some element from some of the fantasy comics Suzu read every once and a while. The man growled and threw his gun at Sam who ducked in time. The pistol bounced off the ground a couple of times before sliding further away, hitting the wall in a final stop; once it stopped moving it faded into black flame that then disappeared into the air. 

“The previous owner had this place protected by magic, Malix.” Matthew replied, Mika could see that he was just as ready to fight as the other boys were if it came to that. She’d never seen Matthew angry until now. Malix. That was his name. His existence resonated in her memory from the dream that she’d had; yet she looked at Matthew with the same confusion that Malix did. Her grandfather had the place protected by magic? How had he? How had he known? 

“This place is protected by... magic?” 

“It would seem that your grandfather had some sort of protective barrier put around this house. From the looks of it, it only disables Hell-borne magic.” James put in, could he actually  **see** the magic? If so... could the others? Malix’s face was soon overcome with extreme anger, his fists tightening at his sides as if he was crushing a stress ball and Mika had a feeling that if he didn’t feel out matched... he might have resorted to punching. 

“Then what’s stopping me from dragging YOUR ASSES OUT AND SHOOTING YOU THEN?!” What indeed? Out of pure instinct that surged through her, Mika stepped forward, placing herself between Malix and the boys. With no power, Malix couldn’t really fight and she took that chance to stand up to him instead of being powerless like she’d been in the dream. She felt bold... and angry.

“Fuck Off.” Malix suddenly began laughing wildly as he stared at her in disbelief.

“Hahahahaha! Whoa, whoa! Who let the bitch out of her cage?! What is this, a reverse harem or something?! Hahahahahaha!” He grinned evily, walking close, but she anticipated his move and ducked underneath the incoming hand. She stared at his hand, and the black flame tattoo embedded on it,in surprise as she took a couple steps back from him. Matthew and Damien instantly stepped in front of her, guarding her from a second attack from Malix. 

“Hehehe. A quick one! I’m liking you more and more!” 

“Back off, Malix!” 

“Don’t start acting tough, you pathetic excuse of a demon. You need more protection than her...” Mika gritted her teeth at the implication. 

“Shut up!!”

“Awww, did I make the little Matthew cry? Why don’t you just GROW A PAIR?!” She glared daggers at Malix from where she stood behind Matthew and Damien as Matthew growled in response. Far as she was concerned, Malix wasn’t even half the man Matthew was. 

“Enough, Malix!” The woman spoke up; she’d been standing in silence the whole time; she planted a firm hand on Malix’s shoulder and he looked back at her with a growl and a glare that might kill if looks could.

“Since when did you get the guts to speak out of place?!” 

“We both know you’ve never controlled me. I want them dead just like you do, but now’s not the time.” 

“Fuck off. I know what I’m doing.” 

“Do you? Even if you did fight them, there’s five against two. We’d never win.” The she-devil... thing... spoke the exact words that Mika was thinking of just then. This wasn’t a fight in his favor. He’d have to be an idiot to attack them.

“SHUT UP!” 

“LET’S GO, MALIX! WE’RE WASTING OUR TIME!” The two growled at each other; if they could have used their magic, she swore she could sense that fire would have glowed from under their teeth as they glared at one another. Malix grunted and turned to glare back at the boys. He pointed at James, as if wanting to use his fingers like a knife or something like it. He laughed.

“Just wait, pretty boys. We’ll get you and fuck you up  **real** good. Ahahahaha!!” Malix then turned to her, moving his finger to point directly between her eyes.

“And don’t think you’re safe. Mm-mm... Step outside. I  _ dare _ you! Wahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!” The two then walked out of the mansion; the doors closed behind them by some invisible force, leaving the boys and Mika alone once again. It was official. This night had just gotten worse.


	5. Voices in the Night

She felt her knees give out from under her, forcing the boys to move quickly to catch her to make sure she didn’t fall.

“Whoa, whoa! Are you alright?” She was too tired from the stress to really register that it was Sam who had spoken. 

“Y-yeah... why was he here?” 

“He’s been closely tracking us... Our blood trail from the forest must have led him here.” Damien replied, he looked ready to release a sigh at any moment. Matthew growled a little in irritation.

“We should have stopped him and finished it here...” 

“For once, Matthew, I agree with you.” Sam said, it was odd to hear. She stood up and rubbed her arms, feeling goosebumps left from Malix being so close. She couldn’t stop herself from shivering in a bit of fear of his words. 

“Malix... was he... a demon?” Uncertainty rang in her tone. What had she gotten herself into?

“That son-of-a-bitch is not a demon. He’s a devil.” 

“A devil? There’s a difference?” 

“Yes. Demons come from a different plane of existence called the Abyssal Plains. Devils, however, come from one of the seven circles of a place humans know as Hell. Despite us not being human, we are very different creatures.” She could hear the disgust in Erik’s tone, it wasn’t like him at all... but then again this night had been anything but normal. 

“We actually have brains for one.” Sam seemed to take up the rest of the reply, as if it were needed.

“Devils always like to cause trouble and try to kill or torture others for their own enjoyment. Demons like us know when to use our powers and when not to. We’re not stupid.” 

“Devils follow orders from higher ups in their order and their powers only comes from their connection to Hell. Demons all have free wills and don’t rely on where they come from to use their powers.” Matthew was the next to speak up; that was odd, were they taking turns or something? This was all so confusing. Demons, devils and magic all existed and she had happened to manage to land smack dab in the middle of it all. 

“What do we do..?” 

“You’re safe. You’ve been protected as well.” Damien spoke up again, she was a little surprised James hadn’t said anything yet. Apparently he was content to let his brothers speak up. Wait... protected?

“What?” 

“What Damien’s saying is that the magic that protects this place also protects you.” Matthew answered, great... so they were taking turns answering her questions. Finally James spoke up, answering one of the questions she’d thought of earlier but had nearly forgotten until now.

“Your grandfather must have cast it when you last saw him or something of that nature. We can sense it's aura around your body.” She couldn’t believe her ears. This was the third day of surprises and this one took the cake! She felt her head beginning to spin as her mind tried to comprehend all of what she’d just been told. What had she gotten herself into...? 

“Miss, please don’t worry. We’ll find a way to train ourselves and become stronger to finally finish this feud.” She glanced from James to the other boys who seemed to share the same opinion on that score. Sam growled.

“I wanna kick his ass  **right** now.” She didn’t blame him for that, she’d felt the same way when he’d threatened the boys.  _ I’ve only known them for a couple of days and yet they’re already like family to me... how can this be? _ She wondered silently. 

“Until then, we’ll protect you as much as we can. If Malix comes back, we’ll be here for you.” Erik added and she smiled a little at his reassurance. She knew from their expressions that the boys were all in agreeance, they would help protect her... but she couldn’t simply stay shut up in the mansion.

“But what about going outside? Won’t he...?” She trailed off, she still had to go to school and there was no way she’d be excused from it on the premise that she was in danger from a devil. No one would believe it. 

“Like we said, you have a protection spell on you. Even if Malix attacks you, he won’t be able to use his magic on you. He’d be just like any other human you can fight back against.” She looked back over at Matthew, that was only mildly reassuring; if it was just Malix, she could take him, but what if he brought reinforcements or got ahold of a non-magic weapon? Fighting against Malix might not be the best option then. 

“Didn’t you say you knew taekwondo?” 

“Well, yeah.” She looked at Sam; even so, that skill would be next to useless if he brought weapons like guns to the fight. While she felt somewhat relieved that she was mostly safe from Malix she still could not help but feel very nervous and apprehensive about the future. The boys were safe here to train and become stronger, but what if Malix did the same? That too, was a problem. She was lost about how her grandfather knew about magic, he’d never seemed to indicate that he did; she knew that she would have to find out. At least time was on her side. She went to bed that night feeling nervous despite the reassuring words of the incubi; she felt like a target to something she’d never be able to explain or prove to anyone else. Magic? Devils? Demons? How did all this even happen? Should she really meddle with the situation further? 

“They are only staying until after they defeat Malix...” She muttered to herself as she prepared for bed. The thought struck her hard moments later. _ That’s right... They said they’d only stay until after they defeated him. After that, my life will go back to normal... Temporary insanity, as K would say...  _ The question was, then, would she  **want** them to leave? If her life went back to normal, then she’d have to care for the house all on her own; she’d get to focus on her life instead of being distracted by the boys. She’d have to. There’d be no choice once they were gone. 

“My life...” She muttered to herself.Where  _ was _ her life going anyway? She was under pressure from her parents with only her friends and the boys to comfort her. Without the boys, she’d have no way to hide from her ‘responsibilities’... She shook the thoughts from her head.

“I’ll just sleep and deal with tomorrow when it comes.” Defeating her sense of thought, she forced herself to sleep, unsure of what tomorrow had planned; hopefully, whatever the future had for her, she would be ready for it. She closed her eyes then and drifted off.

“I promise to be with you forever...”

“You’re so important to me...”

“I swear I’ll give my life to you.” 

“Please, let me love you.”

“I’ll be by your side. Always.” 

“I can’t imagine living without you!” 

“I want to be with you.” 

“I love you.” Mika slowly opened her eyes, letting the voices of her dream echo in her head and force her awak. She rubbed her eyes before sitting up and looking at the clock, even as curiosity filled her; what had that been about? Each of the voices had been different and while they had said different things, she had a feeling that.. In some way or another, they had all meant the same thing. The last of the voices had said it plainly. She almost did a double take.  _ 7 am... Why am I up so early...?  _ She shook away the memory of the dream for now as she fell back onto the bed and closed her eyes, trying to go back to sleep; however, something kept her awake. What and why? 


	6. The Next Morning

“It’s too early to even be alive...” She grumbled at the thing keeping her awake, there was no response; not that she expected there to be. After several minutes she gave up trying to get back to sleep and sat up, staring at the fireplace from across her bed. A sigh escaped from her before she threw her legs over the side of the bed. What to do at seven in the morning... After a moment’s thought she decided it might be a good idea to just get some coffee; the boys would be up sooner or later so it only made sense to make some for them and it might just help her survive the rest of this day. She wasn’t sure how early they were up, so she changed out of her pajamas and into a tank top and some sweat pants; it wasn’t meant for more than house work but it was good enough for her for the moment,  before she headed down to the kitchen. It seemed like forever since she’d last had a cup of coffee herself. She rummaged through the cabinets for the coffee machine and the makings for coffee. She knew that her grandfather had some, but it took her a little while to locate it as she hadn’t actually been in the kitchen yet since she’d moved in. 

“A french press...? Well, it’s better than nothing.” She muttered to herself; as she began to make the coffee she checked her email and texts on her phone. No new important emails. No text messages. She sighed and quickly made herself a cup of coffee just how she liked it and sat on the edge of the counter. She began to wonder... would this happen every day now? Was this what her life had become? She let the questions linger in her mind. For the whole morning, she did not once think about the boys or Malix. Everything was peaceful. Everything was average. Nothing magical, dangerous or unusual... She simply sipped her coffee as she let her thoughts marinate in the back of her mind, trying to figure out what she felt about all of this; what seemed like hours later she returned to bed once she had finished the cup, feeling the weight of the morning drag her under her covers to try sleeping again. She had energy, but something in her wanted more sleep. It was Sunday anyway and nothing was special was happening. She shut her eyes and tried to slow her breathing. When she looked at her phone again to check the time it was noon, yet it had felt like she had slept for much longer than that. “Why is time going so slowly?” She muttered to herself; with a sigh she got up and changed in a button up shirt with a blue vest over it and pulled on some blue jeans. As a last minute thought, she grabbed a navy blue ribbon and tied it around her neck into a bow. After giving her reflection a quick glance to make sure she looked decent, she headed out into the main hall and sat on the stairs. Sundays were very boring usually; however, the muffled sounds of battle caught her attention. Wondering what could be going on, she hurried down the steps and out to the back yard where she had heard the noise coming from. What she saw made her smile a little in relief; all five of the boys were practicing fighting. Sam was currently in the middle with the other four surrounding him, throwing punches and kicks at him. Sam, being the strongest of the bunch, blocked and dodged each of the attacks almost masterfully. After watching them a moment she decided it was probably best not to disturb them; they were very much in their own little world, focusing on the training. James had said the night before that they would train, so she didn’t want to interrupt; instead, she headed back inside and checked the time when she arrived in the kitchen. She was getting hungry and she was sure the boys would need to eat soon themselves, so lunch was a must. It had been a while since she’d cooked anything. She might as well make lunch for them all today, after all hadn’t they done most of the cooking and such since they’d arrived? It only seemed right that she do something for them while they were busy doing all they could to help protect her and lunch wasn’t particularly hard to make. She looked in the various cupboards and fridge before she decided on what to make. The boys would need to keep up their strength if they were going to train again after lunch, so a simple meal of chicken and rice would be a good choice. The protein would keep up both their energy and their strength. She took her time to make almost perfect chicken breasts alongside the rice. Cooking wasn’t hard unless you didn't know what you were doing in the first place. Once done, she placed the food in the dining room; however, none of the boys were there by the time she’d finished bringing out the final plate with the meal on it. She carried that dish to the main lobby only to catch sight of the boys separating into different rooms of the house. She wondered what was up with that. Part of her wanted to go to one in particular. The other part of her wanted to just leave them be and take the food in her hand to her room to eat. Maybe she could go out today while the boys focused on training; but if she did that, she’d miss an opportunity to be alone with Erik. She knew what she wanted to do and quickly rushed back to grab a second food dish before hunting down one of the boys; she wasn’t sure which one she’d find though. She looked down each hall, trying to find one of the incubi wandering so that she wouldn’t have to go through each individual room; she pursed her lips in irritation when she didn’t spot any of them. 

“Where the heck are they?” She sighed, knowing she’d have to search each room. She turned and headed down the west all before she suddenly bumped, face first, straight into an opening door. 

“Oof!!”

“Whoa! What the...” Well... she’d found one of the boys, but that was NOT how she’d meant to do it...  She quickly stepped back, regaining her balance and keeping the food from falling from her hands; the last thing she wanted was food on the floor. She shook her head and looked over to see Sam looking at her from behind the door in surprise. Being that she could only see his face, and his hair was wet, she assumed that the door led to a bathroom that he’d just been exiting from. 

“Aww crap. Are you alright?” 

“Yeah, yeah. I brought food.” What the hell? Why had she said that? She shook her head again and acted like she knew why she said what she had. Sam raised an eyebrow at her before looking to the food. 

“Oh, hey. Thanks.” As he stepped out from behind the bathroom door and closed it, she suddenly found herself face to face with a shirtless and freshly clean Sam. A simple towel hanging over his shoulders as he looked at her. She froze, unable to tear her eyes away from the sight. Damn, he was ripped. It was all she could think. 

“Hey. You alright? Hello?” 

“Abawauah?” She could have smacked herself.  _ Oh God... that was real intelligent!  _ The only reason she didn’t smack herself was because, she remembered, she still was holding two plates of food. A sly smirk appeared on Sam’s lips before he tapped her forehead with his finger; it was light, but she still felt pressure from it push her back a bit on her feet. 

“You gonna give me my food or do you plan to keep staring into space like a nutjob?” 

“Huh?! Oh! Right! Here!” She quickly gave him his food, glaring at him but he only chuckled before quickly dropping to the floor where he was at, crossing his legs to sit. She did a double take at him before she joined him to eat. She was hungry, so she figured she might as well. Sam must have been hungry, because he practically scarfed down all of his food before she could even get more than two bites out of her own. 

“Geez! You eat fast!” Did he do everything that quickly? 

“Oh! Uh, sorry. It was good. Yeah.” Well, at least he seemed to enjoy it a little. 

“Thanks?” He sat in silence, waiting for her to finish. It was a little odd really, it wasn’t too far from feeling like having a dog watch while you ate. Nevertheless, she finished her meal faster than she normally did and looked to Sam, who had somehow got his shirt and vest on while she wasn’t looking. Damn, he was fast. 

“Alright then. I’m heading up to the roof.” The roof?! He was heading to the roof.... Why? 

“The roof?” 

“Yeah. Wanna come with?” Wait, he wanted her to join him...? On the roof...? The roof of a huge mansion... How? Why?

“I promise you won’t fall or whatever, okay?” 

“Okay.” She had a tiny fear of heights... or that is to say, falling from them, but she felt up for this. It couldn’t be that dangerous and what was life without a little risk anyway? Plus, he had said he wouldn’t let her fall. That was enough for her. The small, adventurous side of her was very happy with her decision, even as another side of her was screaming at her, asking why she’d decided to do this. Sam took the empty dishes and placed them on a nearby stand before walking to a nearby window and looking at her. They were going out a window?

“Come on.” Well... okay then. She walked over to him, unsure of what he wanted her to do; as she stepped to his side he wrapped a tight arm around her waist and hugged her against his side, surprising her.

“Whoa!” 

“Better hold on tight.” She instantly wrapped her arms around him as he opened the window and stepped up onto the ledge. She could feel him tighten his grip on her as he looked up and grabbed the end of the roof with his free hand. She gripped onto him tightly as he somehow pulled them both up to the roof with one hand. He then lifted her further up the roof before pulling himself up and sitting with a contented sigh. 


	7. Through His Eyes

“See? I told you I wouldn’t let you fall.”

“Y-yeah...” She couldn’t help but feel both a little scared and yet elated to be up here. She sat beside Sam, trying to shake off thoughts on what had happened. He was a demon. She had to remember that, no matter how human he looked; so of course something that would be impossible or far beyond the realm of normal for a human certainly wouldn’t be beyond his reach.

“Pretty sight, huh?” Huh? She raised her eyebrows before looking ahead of them only to gasp. The sight was truly beautiful. The estate was settled on a high hill so the view that she saw made her feel like she was almost flying. She could see Chicago in the distance, surrounded by forests and suburbs, like the one that she resided in. Something about the sight took her breath away and she silently thanked her adventurous side for taking the risk to come up on the roof.

“You know, it’s things like this that make the human world worth coming to.” She turned to him at his statement, unsure of what he meant; he kept his eyes on the view, but she could see a soft amazement in his eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not like my brothers. I didn’t come to get away from anything or to fulfill something, whatever they may tell you their reasons were. I came because... well... they’re my brothers. That’s that. However, I didn’t expect the human world to be so... pretty.” She wondered what he had expected. She had never thought to ask the others what their reasons might be for coming to the human world, but to think that he had come just because his brothers were coming... for such a selfless reason... it made her heart flutter a little. She had thought that there was more to Sam than he had presented to the world, but she hadn’t fully been prepared to see a side like this to him. A side that was selfless and caring... there was no doubt about it. He cared for his brothers, even if they didn’t always see eye to eye. What she didn’t fully understand though was what he’d said. They were running from more than just Malix? What could have possibly driven them from where they had been?

“You all ran from something?” She didn’t want to seem too nosey about it, but she did at least want to know that much.

“We all had our reasons for leaving the Abyssal Plains. James didn’t wanna deal with his problems, Matthew wanted to live with humans more than demons... I came ‘cause I didn’t want to be without my brothers, so I left with them.”

“That’s rather sweet, if you think about it.”

“It doesn’t matter. I came, so here I am.” _It does matter though..._  She thought, she wasn’t so sure the people in her life would do something like that for her. That was a rather drastic move. She frowned and bit her lip slightly. She wasn’t sure if Sam really even wanted to be here with how he was answering, but at the same time it seemed like he was devoted to being with his brothers. It made her wonder what he really thought of this world and humans, was maybe that the reason he was so... rude in the beginning? Still, she felt a small wave of confidence drive her to scoot a little closer to Sam. She wanted to try to be friends at least. Fate, on the other hand, didn’t seem to like that as she lost her balance and began to fall off the roof.

“AHH!!”

“WHOA!!!” Sam instantly grabbed her and pulled her to him; wrapping his arms around her, making sure that she wasn’t able to fall back down the roof, but that wasn’t what made her blush from ear to ear. She’d landed on him and was now straddled over his lap; he was hugging her close to his chest. It was almost like a romantic scene in a love story. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from Sam as he stared up at her in concern.

“I gotcha. You okay?”

“Y-yes I am...” She continued to look down at him as he stared up at her; neither of them knew what to do and she could sense that they were both lost on that fact. As they looked at each other, Sam’s face grew slightly red.

“Hey, um... I might as well say it now, but.. sorry for being a dick when we met...” She must have been dreaming. Sam was being... sincere? Why? It threw her off a little, she hadn’t expected him to apologize for that; however, as she stared she could feel his strength weaken a bit. He was shaking, but continued to hold her to keep her safe from falling.

“Sam... do you... need energy?” His eyes widened, like she’d just uncovered some big secret, before he looked away, refusing to answer but also refusing to let her go. She didn’t feel any energy drain, so he wasn’t trying to take advantage of the situation. She was sure that was it though; he needed energy, but should she give it? Did she trust him that much? It took only seconds to answer that question. She gently grabbed Sam’s face in her hands and tilted his head to angle with hers. Leaning closer to him, she brought her lips to his and kissed him. She didn’t know if this would help, but it was how he’d gotten energy before. She shut her eyes, waiting for the feeling of draining to reappear in her body. Sam didn’t move, nor did she feel energy drain from her. She opened her eyes to find Sam staring wide-eyed at her, but unmoving. He was unsure of what to do and she seemed to have silenced him with confusion. She didn’t know why, but she felt both irritated and accomplished at the look he was giving her. Where was his cocky smirk? From what she remembered, he had taken advantage of her when they’d first met, yet now he was some how... intimidated... by her. She pulled back a little.

“I want to give you some of my energy. You’ve used a lot of it and I’m sure that the energy you took from me before was only used for healing. Let me help you.”

“I, uh... I mean, I really... I don’t...” It was cute, in a way, seeing him fumble like that.

“Sam. If you don’t want my energy, just tell me... but I’m offering it to you if you do.” Suddenly she felt the familiar feeling of warmth run through her body once again; she felt her body slightly heat up as Sam pulled her body tighter to his. He regained his stoic gaze.

“Just remember, you offered it...” She didn’t get a chance to nod before he pulled her into a gentle, but passionate kiss. Heat erupted through her body as the kiss slowly, and almost timidly, got deeper. He kept an arm around her waist as she rested her hands on his chest. The energy from her body was slowly draining, making her feel light and warm. It was almost pitiful how comfortable and willing she was in this situation. Still, she held no regrets. She was enjoying every bit of this kiss. He gently leaned back, pulling her along with him so that she was laying on top of him; she felt odd, yet comfortable to be the in in control. Sam wasn’t as forceful as he had been when they’d first met, and it felt almost magical. It was how she had imagined a first kiss to be like... except with energy drain. Soon, though the energy drain stopped and Sam gently pushed her face away to end the kiss. She stared down at him as they both panted for air; she had never kissed like that before and was so lost in the moment that she’d forgotten how to breathe. He moved a strand of hair from her face to behind her ear, his eyes still full of desire. Seeing that look in Sam’s eyes... she almost couldn’t find the strength to pull away... She could feel the hold of his mind-altering spell fade away, but she still felt hot. Something told her that she wanted more, but at the same time, she wasn’t sure if she truly did want to give any more. She’d opened the opportunity and she was enjoying it as much as he was; she wanted more and she was going to let him keep going. She **wanted** him to keep going. She leaned down and kissed him again; he gasped against her lips, but continued to kiss back.  She could feel him pull on the tail of her bow, releasing it and it followed his hand off from around her neck; he moved the ribbon to his pocket before gently unbuttoning the top two buttons of her blouse, The desire in her body drove her insane, forcing a moan to escape her lips as he trailed kisses from her lips to her exposed neck. As he ravished her neck and shoulder in hot kisses, she leaned her neck back and let a pleasureful sigh escape. Sam was ruthless in his passionate kisses on her skin; he didn’t stop touching and kissing her, making more moans and gasps rush out of her mouth and into the open air. He was full, but he was as hot as she was. She couldn’t comprehend how much time they spent making out; she was so lost in the pleasure that she didn’t care. Call it sinful, but she didn’t care; she loved it: his touch, his kiss, his heat. There was just something about him that tugged her towards him, like metal to a magnet. She desired it beyond anything at that moment, even as he lowered his kisses down to her chest just above her bra. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest; something about Sam intrigued her immensely, but there was also something that made her heart quicken for him. It couldn’t have been love... but it was too passionate to be mere lust... What was it? She didn’t have time to wonder as she began to feel dizzy; seeing the sky start to spin almost wildly, she gripped onto Sam’s shoulders, trying to signal him to stop, to tell him that something was wrong but her mind faded to black before she could utter another sound.  


	8. What's in a Name...

She felt good. She didn’t care that she’d blacked out; she felt warm and fuzzy in the darkness. She never knew that indulging in that kind of passion would be that good. She now just wanted to awaken, hopefully in a good way. Her eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the sights around her. She felt the familiar silks beneath her, letting her know that she was back in her bed. She slowly sat up, stretching from the tiredness that still lingered. She felt a very soft pain in her neck and shoulders and could feel her swollen lips pulse gently. When she looked down, however, she saw that her shirt had been rebuttoned as if nothing had happened between her and Erik. She was just missing her ribbon. As she moved to get out of bed, though, she spotted her ribbon on the pillow beside the one she’d slept on. It was tied in a nice bow with a small note attached to it. She gently slipped the note from the tie and opened it to read it:

 

Sorry. I went a little too far.

  


She stared at the note, letting a small smile grace her lips. He went too far? She’d enjoyed it, despite the first time’s circumstance. It was cute though, to imagine him apologizing for something they both had done and enjoyed. She brought the note to her chest, letting the memories of their meeting flood her mind. Maybe it hadn’t been ideal, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t mean anything to her. In a way... their first meeting was almost comical.

“I indulged myself too, Sam...” She set the letter on her nightstand as she looked at the time. The numbers on her phone showed that it was 5:31 pm.

“Yikes... Four hours of being knocked out... and I _still_ feel tired...” She wondered if that was normal. It was Sunday, though, so she was allowed to sleep longer if she wanted to... she felt it was a good idea to and slipped beneath the covers again for a brief nap. The rest of the evening passed by, surprisingly uneventful. The boys continued to train with each other, but were kind enough to stop to make her dinner and she was glad for that. Unsurprisingly, the food they made was perfect, but it felt a little empty without the boys to eat with her. She’d concluded that, mostly likely, they had already eaten, but still she felt lonely. It was a little strange how easily she had gotten used to their presence here; like they had always been around rather than having just dropped in so suddenly only a few days ago. She knew she couldn’t let it bother her, that it did at all surprised her; she merely ate though and went back to her room to study and sleep, not bothering the boys. She felt good going to bed that night; feeling like she could have a peaceful sleep, which was welcome after the previous rough nights she’d had. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt good. She drifted to sleep only to wake up almost flawlessly the next morning. No grogginess, no aches; perfectly energized and bright-eyed. How often did something that really happen? Perhaps fortune was on her side today.

“Man, how long has it been since I got that much good sleep?” She mused aloud. She looked at her alarm clock; she’d woken up ten minutes before her alarm. It really must be her lucky day today. It was about time! Karma owed her some good luck! After all she’d gone through in merely a handful of days, she deserved it. Ecstatic for the day ahead, she turned off her alarms before they could ring and got dressed. Today was going to be a great day, she could feel that it was going to be. She checked the time, 6:30, she had more than enough time to eat breakfast before it would be time to head off to class. She packed her bag and carried it downstairs towards the kitchen. As she entered the dining room, however, she saw a plate with eggs, toast, and bacon sitting on the table. A fresh steaming cup of coffee also sat next to it with some sugar and creamer on the side. She walked to the table, unable to believe what she was seeing. Someone had made her breakfast. Though she didn’t see any of the boys in sight, it didn’t surprise her; she figured that they would likely spend the day training in case Malix decided to show up again or something.   

“Who made this...?” She muttered aloud in curiosity, but with none of the boys were around to answer she felt she might not know that any time soon. They didn’t have to be though as a small, red note caught her attention. She sat down to read it:

 

Have a good day.

 

Yours

  


Her heart skipped a beat. She could tell it was from one of the boys. Was it maybe from... him? The thought of Sam made her heart begin to race a little inside her chest and a light blush covered her cheeks. She smiled and put the note into her bag before she ate up. The food was so delicious that she devoured every amazing bite faster than she had thought possible. She put the plate away and looked at the time once more; it was time to go now. She wouldn’t have time to leave a thank you note this time around. She made a mental note to do so when she got home to whoever had made her breakfast. She rushed to the doors, checking herself in a passing mirror. She wasn’t wanting to impress anyone, but she knew she still needed to look decent; before she could reach the handle of the door, however, someone took her hand.

“Huh?” She paused and turned to see Sam, who was holding her hand back with a stern look on his face. What was with that look?

“My name...”

“Your name?”

“My TRUE name isn’t Sam... I want you to know my real name if something happens.” His true name? What did he mean? Why was he telling her this now? He gently pulled her close to him and leaned close to whisper in her ear.

“My name is Aomaris.” As he said it, she could feel it lock into her memory; something in her mind would make sure that she would never forget it. She was almost certain that something was magic. He pulled away and stared at her, there was worry in his eyes now.

“If you are in any danger- anytime, doesn’t matter when-, call my name. I promise that I’ll come and help you.” She stared at him, unable to say anything; she could only nod in response. He nodded back before releasing her hand and heading into the dining room. Something inside her told her that name would be used eventually... She shook herself a little once he was out of sight. She still had to get to school, though she did her best to focus on her classes, she’d be lying if she didn’t say she daydreamed a bit during some of them... okay almost all. She’d made it there without a hitch and the day seemed to be a blur of the usual lessons as any school day was meant to be. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, at least nothing that was noteworthy; she went from class to class, had lunch, and was anxious to get home.


	9. A Fool's Mistake

As she was walking out of her last class she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. A text from her father?  It said that he’d be picking her up from school and that he wanted to talk to her. She wondered what it could possibly be about. It was kind of a surprise. She got all of her things together and waited outside the building for him. While she waited she watched other students pass her by, listening to some of her music on her phone as she waited. 

“I need to go to another Rise of the Phoenix concert soon...” She said to herself as she listened to the music. She ended up playing the entire album with no one showing up. That was a little odd. Her father was never late, especially not this late. She dialed her father’s number, but as soon as she pressed call it disconnected and the phone had a signal disconnection error message. She frowned a little. 

“Huh? How do I not have a signal?” She could see that her phone had all five bars for a signal, so what was going on? 

“He must be in a dead zo-” She began to mutter to herself, but her musing was interrupted as suddenly hands grabbed her limbs and covered her mouth. A familiar voice yelling.

“HEY! Don’t dirty up Malix’s prey.” She felt a shiver go down her spine as the voice whispered into her ear suddenly.

“You’re coming with me, Ms. Crosstar.” She couldn’t fathom what exactly was happening at that moment, but before she knew it she’d been blindfolded and tied up. She felt herself being carried somewhere and shoved into something that seemed to echo like the interior of a bus or a van. The doors closed and she was taken, unsure of where she was going and why. Though her mind was in a daze, she realized she was in real trouble... For a while, all she saw was darkness; she felt numb as she was taken somewhere she didn’t know. She couldn’t find the will to move her lips to even scream. Sounds zipped past her ears; first of the interior of the vehicle and then of outside, then an echoey place with whispers and cackles of others vibrating through it. At some point she’d caught the woman’s name... Eris. Eventually the wrap around her eyes was removed and her bonds were cut. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but she found herself in a warehouse, surrounded by devils, including Malix, who was smirking at her. She had a sinking feeling when she saw all of this, yes she could defend herself... but against ALL of them? She wasn’t feeling that brave. 

“Nicely done, hahaha! I’m sure those little shits will come running to find you when they realize you didn’t return to your precious little mansion. They’ll search everywhere for you!” She felt a spurt of anger, but she wasn’t stupid enough to just attack them. Malix walked over and set the barrel of his gun against her forehead, straight between her eyes. The moment the metal touched her skin she knew she couldn’t do this alone. She needed help.  

“It’ll be  _ so _ funny when they find your dead body instead.” She feel panic like most might, instead she just felt angry. She’d had enough of him and the boys had said she was protected against his magic. It was time to teach this idiot that not all humans were weak. No way this was happening; no way was she going to be a victim of this. 

“I... I will...” 

“What are you whimpering? Are you praying that the boys will come and save you? Hahaha!” She closed her eyes, took a breath to help focus before snapping up one leg and sweeping her foot across Malix’s face.

“HAAAA!” With a grunt, Malix flew to the side and rolled, rubbing his cheek in complete shock. She could feel Eris step back away from her, leaving her to look at Malix and shake her foot out from the hit. It had stung a little. Malix quickly hopped up and growled, obviously surprised, but irritated beyond belief. 

“You little bitch! Think you’re tough, huh?! Well, I’ll show you your place!! COME HERE!” Malix charged at her, dropping the gun -that she knew would never hurt her- to the floor and reaching for her face; however, she quickly crouched down and swept her leg in front of her, knocking him down once again. She rolled back away from the fallen devil, glaring as she rose back to her feet. 

“Just because I’m human doesn’t mean I can’t kick your ass!” She placed her hands in front of her before sliding over to Malix, slamming the ball of her foot into his head. One of the devils around them tried to step in, but Eris held out her arm, stopping them as she spoke. 

“No! Stay out of it! Let Malix deal with it.” As commanded, the devils that surrounded her and Malix stood back from the fight. The group watching them seemed lost in intrigue as Mika stood up to their leader. She continued to kick at Malix, who tried to block her blows with his arms. She brought a foot up before slamming it down on Malix’s chest; she was sure she heard a rib or two crack at the impact, causing Malix to lose his breath. What she didn’t expect was him grabbing her leg and pulling it out from under her. She fell to the ground, landing with a thud; the impact was felt in her bottom and along her spine. 

“OOF!!” Pain shot up her arms and through the rest of her body as well; she tried to push off, but the pain forced her to stay down. Malix took that chance to roll on top of her and pin her down, glaring and smirking down at her evilly. As she tried to get him off, the futility of the situation dawned on her. She was fighting a devil. She was just a human. She wasn’t magical nor was she special. She wasn’t going to beat him on her own. 

“It’s useless, woman! You’re as good as dead! Betcha regret trying to fight me in the first place now!!” Fear slowly began to consume her.  _ For the love of God... please someone find me. _ She prayed; she hoped that wouldn’t have to keep fighting. She was becoming desperate. 

“You have major balls trying to fight me! You’re not even a man! You’re a puny woman who’s about to get what’s coming to her!” What made everyone in the warehouse stop was the screeching of police sirens coming closer to their location. Malix smirked even wider. 

“It’s time to have fun, boys! Make sure you kill them all!” The devils all seemed to get excited and started to walk past her and Malix to meet with the cops, but a loud finger snap stopped them and made them turn around. Mika and Malix looked to see Eris with her hand in the air, post-snap. 

“Eris, what are you doing?” 

“Enough, Malix. We’ve wasted enough time in this stupid town. I’m getting out of here and I’m taking the rest with me.” Mika didn’t know whether to laugh or not; she bit her tongue as Malix got angry again.

“Like hell you are! Boys! Do as I say or else!” None of the boys moved. Eris snapped her fingers again, causing the boys to rush back past her and out another way from the warehouse.

  
“Malix. It’s over. You can’t even beat a human girl. You’re losing your powers. Lower devils only follow higher ups that actually have power.” 

“SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!” Malix summoned his gun to his hand and shot multiple times at Eris, who managed to teleport away from the shooting line and reappear next them. She shook her head, letting out a say, before grabbing Malix by the neck and pulling him off Mika. Malix started to choke as Eris stared coldly at him.


	10. A Single Moment

“All this for a bunch of pretty boys... You must be stupid and desperate... “ Eris looked over at her, causing her to tense up in anticipation of what might happen next. 

“Human! I suggest heading home to your pretty boys. You don’t want to get involved in a supernatural investigation. It’s a pain in the ass.” She then turned back to Malix, glaring daggers into him as he glared back at her. 

“You really think women are weak? Let me fix that... sweetie.” With that, Eris vanished into the shadows, taking Malix with her. Had Malix not been as he had... she might have felt sorry for him for being on the other end of Eris’ ire. As she was left alone, the police sirens stopped; she looked over to the open passage to see the incubi with a large police siren megaphone, staring at her in surprise. 

“Where is he?! I swear I’m gunna-” 

“He’s gone... Eris took him and left. They won’t be coming back.” It was all so surreal. She was helped... by a devil... but she quickly shook off the feeling. She was alive and that was all the mattered. Mika had fought to stay alive and there she was. The boys tried to question her, but James cleared his throat, catching the attention of his brothers and Mika. 

“Let’s just get you home, miss. There’s nothing more to see here.” James replied; all together, they began to walk out of the warehouse back home. There was no way in hell anyone was going to find out about this. It was over. Malix was gone and the boys were finally safe. A wave of relief ran through her body at the thought of never having to deal with that group again. It was followed though by a ping of realization that hit the back of her mind.The boys were only going to stay until after Malix was defeated. That was the deal. As they approached the mansion, she could feel something heavy begin to weigh down her heart. It was late, but the boys led her inside and turned on the lights in the lobby. Much to her surprise, it was Matthew who spoke up first.

“Finally! We can relax!” 

“It will be good to have some rest without devils breathing down our necks.” Erik agreed. 

“Ugh... I’m just tired. Can I hit the hay early?” That wasn’t so surprising anymore to hear from Sam.

“I think some sleep would be good for all of us.” James agreed and so did she. Damien, on the other hand, made a soft sound that drew her attention. She knew he could read her mind and frowned. She didn’t want him to know her thoughts on the situation at hand now, especially since bringing it up would only ruin the mood. 

“Yeah. Bed sounds good.” She spoke up, hoping Damien wouldn’t; she just wanted this night to end. Too much had happened and she felt a little dizzy just trying to figure it out; however, Damien spoke up, stopping them all from moving to their bedrooms. 

“Should we be gone in the morning?” Damn it, there it was... couldn’t he have waited until tomorrow? The air became still with tension; the realization of the situation hit the other boys like a wave, causing them to turn to her in curiosity. They had remembered their deal and now were awaiting her answer, their eyes on her made her feel like she was deciding their fate or something like that. She gulped, face-to-face with the situation she knew would come and yet a part of her had hoped it wouldn’t. The boys were leaving it up to her. They all looked like they were willing to accept whatever she demanded and that alone made her feel unnerved. Yes this was her home now... but... damnit... they weren’t intruders or anything! It was only fair, though, after all that had happened since they had come crashing into her life. Why did she have to decide now? She silently cursed Damien’s ability to read minds, she knew he likely had heard that but it didn’t seem to affect him. Well... he had once told her he was ‘used to it’ had he not? She looked to Sam, feeling her heart flutter in her chest as she met his green eyes that could shame emeralds...  She didn’t want him to leave, but would he ask to stay? She hoped that he would say no to Damien and ask her to stay longer. As if he knew what she wanted, Sam moved and stepped up to her, putting his hands in his pockets and looking down at the ground. He was still ashamed of what he had done before, but he spoke to her regardless. 

“Hey, um... I ... Shit, um... I kinda... Ugh. I wanted to thank you for your energy and, and well... I ... I kinda wanna stay here. Can we stay here? ..Please?” Her heart skipped and she flushed brightly. The other boys stared at Sam wide-eyed, as if they couldn’t believe what he was asking, but none of them dared to speak out. Sam stepped back again to give her space and returning to where he had been moments before. She moved her gaze across each of the boys, trying to find the words that she knew were right as she began to realize she had already made her decision. She had made it before Sam had even stepped up to her. She knew that if they left in the morning, she would never see them again and her life could return to normal... If she did decide to let them go, that would have been for the best. No goodbyes, no delays. But... did she want to? They had done so much for her in a small amount of time... No, even if it wasn’t for all they’d done, there was a reason she wanted them to stay beyond that. At last, the words came to her. She wanted them to stay. She wanted  **him** to stay. She merely smiled, staring at the man she had come to have feelings for, before speaking and answering the question he had given her and, at the same time, answering Damien’s.

“I would love it if you all could stay.” The boys cheered tiredly, but nonetheless enthusiastically and she couldn’t help but giggle at the sight. It was both cute and heartwarming to see them so excited, despite the tiredness that ran equally through all of them. Today was a rough day.

“My home is your home, as long as you can still help with the chores!” They all nodded in unison, agreeing to the terms that she had originally set for them. Despite the happiness of the situation, she felt herself slowly slipping towards unconsciousness; she was utterly exhausted. James quickly clapped his hands together, getting everyone’s attention and waking her up, making sure that she didn’t just pass out on the floor.

“Alright everyone. We’re all very tired, so let’s head to bed, shall we?” 

“Oh! Yeah, sleep is actually a thing. Right.” She smiled a little at Matthew’s statement, too tired to do more than that. 

“We’ve had a very long day, but it will be good to just relax tonight and tomorrow.” Mika couldn’t agree with Erik more. 

“Sleep sounds really good right now...” Damien agreed.

“Yeah, man.” Of course Sam was tired, hadn’t he said so earlier? She watched the happy smile grow on Sam’s lips. He shared her excitement, knowing that they could be together longer. Who knew how long they would stay together? All she cared about just then was that she would get to be with him. She wanted to get to know him better, after all. The others quickly left to finally rest, leaving her and Sam alone at last. Her heart fluttered a bit as he walked closer to her, looking at his feet. He was nervous, but it was really cute to see him that way so she didn’t do anything but smile. 

“Hey, um... thanks for letting us stay...” 

“You’re welcome, Sam. I’m happy to have you stay here.” She watched his smile brighten a bit before he cleared his throat and looked at her with a serious face. She didn’t know if it was the tiredness or her growing attachment to him, but she felt herself say a bit on her feet; however, Sam’s face made it clear that he wanted to say something else, making her forget that her bed was also calling her. He didn’t say anything though before holding a hand out to her. 

“Come on. Let’s get you to bed.” She nodded and Sam gently took her into his arms like a bride and carried her to her room.


	11. The Succubus

She didn’t want to leave his arms, it wasn’t like being carried by Damien; she lay her head against his chest, but eventually she was lowered onto her bed and covered up with the covers. She was still in her day clothes, but she was too tired to strip or care. She looked to Sam, fighting a yawn from escaping her as he gently ran a hand over her hair. 

“Get some sleep, alright? I’ll make some breakfast again for you in the morning.” She nodded with a tired smile before watching him slowly stand and leave the room, closing the door behind him. A wave of happiness washed over her as she lay there; she knew she’d made a good choice. Sure, it would be hard, but she could tell that she would be able to manage it. Help around the house and being with a man whom she was slowly starting to fall for would be worth it. She slowly felt exhaustion take over and she let sleep consume her; as she drifted into the darkness of her mind her final conscious thought almost made her smile.  _ So he was the one responsible after all for breakfast... _ Everything was peaceful... She was happy... Something woke her. A voice.

“Hahaha. You are an interesting creature...” She opened her eyes to see a woman staring down at her with a sly smirk on her face; red eyes and light brown hair. She opened her mouth to scream, but a hand quickly covered her mouth. 

“Ah ah ah! No screaming, now. Too early, silly girl.” She could only stare at the this woman; she still felt weak , not having the strength to move and fight her off from the lack of sleep. What was going on and why was she here?! Who was she?! 

“Hmmm... why do the boys like you? You’re unique, yes, but that can’t be all that you have going for you...” She frowned in response, it must have reflected in her eyes along with her anger as she felt rage begin to consume her core. This woman, whoever she was, was making her mad. The woman must have known as she let another smirk grow on her face.

“Ooo! You’re feisty. That could be why...” What was with this woman?! Before Mika could bite her hand, she removed it and stood up fully, staring down at her from where she stood next to the bed. Mika quickly sat up and glared daggers at the intruder. She was very beautiful, but she felt more anger than amazement; looks weren’t everything after all.

“Who the hell are you and why are you in my room?!” She began to laugh in response, making the rage inside her increase; she wanted to punch this woman, but instead she waited for an answer. 

“How silly of me. I forgot we demons are not well known of in your world. You can call me Diana, little human.” Little?! What the hell?! She had some nerve... and what was with that dress? She looked like she was dressed to go ballroom dancing, the gold triangular patterns along the black, sleeveless dress matched the necklace she wore which seemed to be made of a string gold triangles. There was also a modest slit in the left part of the skirt, allowing her to walk easily in the form fitting attire that stopped at her ankles, but revealed a little bit of leg beneath. This Diana might be beautiful... but she wasn’t winning any brownie points for it. Who was she and was she really a demon? 

“You’re a demon?” 

“I am, but I’m much more than just an average demon.” 

“What do you mean?”

“Silly girl, I’m a succubus.”  _ Shit. _ That was all she could think at first. A succubus? First incubi, not a succubus. Great. Now she had met  _ both _ genders of sex demons.  _ Well aren’t I just lucky? _ She thought sarcastically. Diana crossed her arms under her bosom and looked at Mika’s body, seeming to measure her.

“Well, you are pretty... But you seem very reckless... Too reckless...” Demon or not... who did she think she was to simply assess her like that?! She stood up, glaring at Diana. 

“Why are you here?” 

“Oh, I just wanted to see who my competition was.” Wait... what?

“Competition?” She smiled as she spoke, as if they were friends who were discussing a favorite book.

“For the boys, of course. They don’t belong here, and yet here they remain. I want to know why and remedy this little issue.” This woman was seriously pissing her off.

“Issue?! What issue?! They want to stay here, so they can.” 

“Silly uneducated human. You don’t understand the important roles these boys play in the Abyssal Plains. You keeping them here is practically imprisonment.” She growled. This woman was an idiot... imprisonment was something done  _ against _ someone’s will! The boys  _ wanted _ to stay! She wasn’t forcing them! 

“You have about ten seconds to leave.” She swore that if this woman didn’t leave on her own then she was going to scream loud enough to send all the boys running and they would all CHASE her ass out! 

“Is that a threat? How cute. What are you going to do? Kill me?” Rather than be annoyed, she seemed... amused? What the hell was wrong with her?! 

“And if I do?” She really wondered why this woman was laughing at such a threat. 

“You barely have the strength to stand, little human. I can rip the rest of your energy out and knock you into a coma. You’ll never be able to wake up again.” Mika clenched her fists. 

“Touch me and I’ll-” 

“Enjoy. Every. Minute of it.” She drew the words out. Mika, on the other hand, had been about to say that she’d scream. She felt her body freeze and heat up to an almost painful haze. Her mind began to feel fuzzy as Diana stepped up to her and caressed her cheek. She knew this feeling, but she wasn’t enjoying a moment of it. On the contrary, she glared at Diana for it.

“Now, you’re going to listen to everything I say without any questions, got it?” She nodded, reluctantly. 

“Good. I plan to bring the boys back to the Abyssal Plains. Why? So that I can take my place as queen of their realm. They have no reason to be here in this silly little world, so I’m going to make sure they return home. Okay, pumpkin?” Mika growled even as her body was forced to nod. Her rage couldn’t be concealed, despite the hold that she was under. 

“You... evil... bitch...” She managed, it hurt to fight the control to even say that much, but Mika had no care for this woman. 

“Hahaha! Call me evil all you want, deary. I’m not evil; you’re just in my way.”  _ And what if you’re in MINE?!  _  She wondered; Diana leaned towards her ear and whispered, making her shiver in both pleasure and annoyance. 

“Now, be a good little human and go to bed. I’ll make sure they’re gone before you get home tomorrow from school, so make sure to say goodbye in the morning.” She growled again even as her body moved on it's own to lay down and cover itself up with the bedsheets. She glared at Diana the entire time but the demoness only laughed at her futility. 

“I’ll... get... you...” 

“Oh, please do.” Her voice deepened suddenly, becoming cold and demonic; it sent a violent shiver down her spine as Diana’s red eyes practically illuminated in the darkness of the room as she glared down at her. Mika knew she should feel fear, but she didn’t.  

“Give me a reason to make your life a living hell.” She gritted her teeth, trying to fight back against the hold on her. Diana couldn’t have been that tough. She needed energy to survive, right? She was sure that she couldn’t have had enough to hold her down forever. Diana then laughed and returned to ‘normal.’ 

“Oh, and make sure you don’t tell the boys I was here. I want my visit to be a surprise.” With the hold on her disappearing, she sat up and practically growled in rage at Diana.

“What’s stopping me?!” She said before she could stop it. Once the words were out she realized how reckless they were. She shouldn’t have said anything. 

“Tsk tsk tsk, then you must not care about your friends and family as much as you care for the boys.” She expected that answer... it was a classic threat from any villain. It happened in stories and movies... why not real life? Diana smirked at her, as if knowing the reason for why her eyes had darkened slightly. 

“Let’s just say that, if you tell the boys about me, I’ll make sure that  _ no one _ will care for you and you’ll be all alone in this little house until the day you die.” Could she do that? Mika knew that a succubus had powers that were the same as any incubus... but could she have a different ability, like the boys, that would make something like that possible? She considered that it might be. It was one thing for her to be facing a devil with help from the boys and yet another to face down a demon on her own. Despite that, she wouldn’t be detoured. 

“Have a good night.” She said way too pleasantly to actually mean it. With that, she sank into the floor through a some magic, purple pentagram, which disappeared as soon as her head had vanished into the floor. She shook her head, barely able to believe it. First she’d had one problem and now that it was dealt with she suddenly had another. Instead of a crazy psycho devil who wanted her and the boys dead, she had a succubus wanting to ruin her life and take the boys away... although she wasn’t sure that those two things weren’t synonymous. She had to wonder though, could her life get  _ any _ worse? She shook the thought away, she really didn’t want to jinx herself in case it really could get worse. Why tempt fate? 


	12. A Silent Showdown

No. She wasn’t simply going to let Diana win. 

“She’s not as powerful as she looks. I know it.” Mika mentally confirmed it; she wasn’t going to win and the boys wanted to stay with her. They’d agreed to her conditions, they weren’t her slaves by any means nor was she keeping them here against their will. She let out a sigh before closing her eyes, affirming her plan of action. No matter what she was going to do, she was going to beat that demoness. When morning came it seemed like the sun was screaming at her to get up. Surprisingly, she woke up before her alarm clock once again, which was kinda nice. She stretched and dressed, getting ready for another day of school.  _ She expects me to say ‘goodbye’ to the boys. I will say ‘good morning’ and will see them when I come back.  _

“No way am I going to say goodbye.” She all but growled to an empty room. Scooping up her bag, she headed downstairs to the dining room and saw the boys were already eating a delicious selection of food. The smell made her stomach growl as the sight of the food drew her to walk further into the room. James, Erik and Matthew smiled when they saw her.

“Good morning, miss. Did you sleep well?” James asked. She hesitated in answering. Damien furrowed his eyebrows and stopped eating; which let her know that her attempt to hide last night’s event had failed. 

“She’s here.” The way he said it made a chill go up her spine. Did Damien know her? The others looked at Damien in confusion while she silently cursed his ability. 

“Umm... Damien, what’s up with you? Of course she’s here. She kinda owns the house.” Damien looked from his brothers to her, wanting her to explain for him this time. The threats that Diana had given her last night warned her against it, however. She almost sighed aloud, knowing that the boys would find out from Damien if not from her. So it didn’t really matter if she said anything or not.

“Diana.” Damien pressed his lips together into a fine line while the others looked at her with a raised eyebrow. 

“A girl named Diana came by last night...” 

“Diana? Is she important?” Erik seemed confused by her answer.

“Did she try to hurt you?” Leave it to Sam to think that, though he wasn’t exactly off the mark. 

“She’s a... succubus.” That single word seemed to make them all stop eating and stare. She looked at each of them, unsure of what was going through their minds. Should she have avoided it? No... it wouldn’t have mattered if she’d spoken up or not.

“So... she’s come to try and bring us back...” It was James who spoke, his voice rather quiet; none of the boys seemed pleased by this prospect. 

“She must really be desperate.” Matthew added and that made her wonder if perhaps they hadn’t met her before. 

“Well, what should we do now?” Erik looked over at James but it was Sam who answered.

“Nothing. She’ll give up eventually.”

“Will she?” James asked; the boys continued to look at her as if she knew the answer to that. Damn it, Damien. 

“She said that if I told you, she’d make my life a living hell... She can’t possibly do that, right? She’s not a devil.” 

“No, she isn’t... However, she is a very powerful demon.”  _ That’s not reassuring James. _

“She’s a master of mind-manipulation and has been trained in illusion. Unlike other demons who use strength to get power, she uses her charisma.”  _ Thanks Erik... so in a word... yeah, she could.  _ Mika almost sighed at the thought.

“She has the power to make armies bow to her and obey her every whim. That’s why she’s so obsessed with us.”  _ That... doesn’t make any sense Damien. _ She didn’t say it aloud, but she knew he heard it, even if he didn’t respond or even give any sign he had.

“What? What do you mean?” She hoped he’d explain further; she’d like to say that she was surprised when he didn’t answer but Matthew did... except that she was sort of used to this back and forth now. For... whatever reason, it seemed to be a thing with them. Not that she minded really. 

“Well... she sort of has family ties to us... She was promised to marry one of us in exchange for more power.” Well that figured. 

“She’s just some whacked up hussy who doesn’t know how to close her legs. She’s not a real threat.” Well crap... Sam seemed to be showing more hostility against Diana than Mika had honestly expected him to. 

“Oh, really? I feel insulted.” The only one who wasn’t surprised, likely, was Damien. Since he could read minds after all. They looked around the room, wondering where the voice came from. Mika felt a cold sweat run down the back of her neck in fear, remembering what kind of power this demon had. After a moment of searching, they spotted her by the entrance of the kitchen, juggling a red apple in her hand as she leaned against the archway. The boys were quick to surround her, just as they had in the warehouse, glaring at the intruder.

“So, you took up a human name as well.” That only seemed to confirm my suspicions that the boys knew her from before now. 

“Beautiful name, isn’t it? Well, for a human name, anyway.” What was THAT supposed to mean? Was that a veiled insult? 

“What the hell do you want?” 

“To bring you back, of course! However, you weren’t supposed to know that I was coming. I completely forgot about that little mind-reading ability.” She chuckled, as if it were some joke.

“My mistake.” She pushed off from the archway and walked towards them, making the boys step closer to Mika in a protective circle. This caused Diana to laugh. 

“My, my, my. What have the worlds come to? A group of demons protecting a human girl? I’ll tell you right now, she’s not that pretty and, from what I can tell, she’s still a virgin.” So what? What difference did  _ that _ make? Although the way she said it made it seem like some sort of an insult that she had been saving her first time with someone she loved rather than just sleep with any guy. She didn’t say a word, it didn’t matter... apparently in the demon world it was something to be used frivolously but Diana obviously did not understand that, for humans, it was not something to just use as some bargaining chip. That it meant a lot more than that and she almost pitied Diana for her position, being a succubus had to suck if she was expected to be experienced by a certain age. Still, when Diana chuckled and smirked at her, Mika wanted to hit her, but she had control of herself. She wasn’t just going to go and do something stupid. 

“Such control you have, human. You know your place very well...” She growled, this wasn’t the Dark Ages! This demon was an idiot if she thought that... Diana seemed to ignore the sound much like one would ignore the growling of a dog.

“Well, will you all change your minds? I assure you, it’s for the greater good.” Greater good? What the hell sort of nonsense was  _ that _ ?! There was complete silence. None of the boys replied, which made her curious as to why. Diana leaned her head back a bit, surprised. 

“No? Well... I see...” Was silence their way of saying no to her? She looked around at each of them and saw the disobedience in their eyes, giving her the answer she sought. She felt her heart flutter, especially when her eyes landed on Sam. He kept her close to him, glaring daggers into Diana. She could feel that he was completely adamant in his choice to stay, regardless of what his reason for coming to this world had been originally. She didn’t know why, but she was incredibly happy to know that Sam wanted to stay. Diana sighed and pressed a finger into one temple, rubbing it gently. 

“Either all of you are playing a very convincing hard-to-get game... or you all must be out of your minds...”  _ Or maybe you’re the insane one lady... _ Who in their right mind, after all, would ask anyone to run back to the place they had run from in the first place? Diana’s gaze shifted to her then, as if to read her mind. She could tell that Diana wanted her to do something, but the boys would stop her, so the stare was her only available action and she was not going to say or do anything to change the boys’ minds. Whether Diana liked it or not... it was their choice to stay or go. After a small moment of silence, Diana licked her lips before breaking the gaze-battle with her and smiling to the boys. 

“Very well. I guess I’ll take my leave now.”  She was going to just leave? The boys straightened up, seeming just as confused as Diana stepped back from them with a small bow, flaunting her cleavage. Not that any of the boys were really paying close attention to that rather than her as a whole. Without another word, a purple pentagram appeared beneath her, like the night before, and she slowly sank into the floor. As her head vanished into the floor, the pentagram vanished. The boys relaxed at that and slowly began to return to their spots at the table, each in deep thought. 

“She’ll be back... but she won’t kill us. She needs us alive.” 

“Whatever. We’ll just keep saying no! She can’t force us to come back.” Mika wasn’t so sure of that. After all, Malix had tried to use her against the boys, she didn’t think that Diana would be any different.

“She can’t do anything but annoy us. Eventually she’ll give up.” She wondered how Sam was so certain of this. 

“That’s the hope, anyway...” Right, hope. She hoped that Erik had a little more than just hope to go on. 

“Hopefully...” She said in agreement, there was no guarantee. Sam walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, looking at her with concern.

“If she comes after you, you need to tell us. Okay?” 


	13. A Poor Substitute

She nodded, knowing that he wanted to protect her. He gently took his hand from her shoulder and very gently moved a strand of hair from her face, making her blush and forget what she was thinking about. The sound of chuckles and playful snickers whispered through the air, making her blush even more, but as Sam grunted in reply, the laughter stopped. She looked up to see that he was glaring at his brothers, a fist forming in his hand ready to swing at one of them if they dared continue. Mika quickly left the room after that, not wanting to become more embarrassed than she already was as she’d realized the other brothers had come to realize that there was something between them... She didn’t even think about the fact that she hadn’t actually eaten as she left for school; there wasn’t any time now before class and besides that she’d lost her appetite with the appearance of Diana. That woman was more than enough to ruin anyone’s appetite. At least today she only had one class to deal with. History. She was pretty sure that nothing would happen.... Never, ever say that nothing will happen before the day is over... History class wasn’t her favorite, it wasn’t exactly fun really, but she liked her teacher and most of the other students who were already there were around her age, though a couple of them were older. Before class was set to start, however, there was a note on the board stating that there would be a substitute for the day. Mika looked around but didn’t see anyone but the other students so far. It wasn’t until the door opened just a few minutes before class was set to start. She couldn’t help but stare and she swore that her heart stopped as she saw her.

“Hello class, you can call me Ms. Diana.” Mika nearly groaned. Diana smirked when their eyes met before she strutted over to the podium near the head of the class, ignoring (or welcoming) the whispers from the other students, before she sat on the edge of the desk and crossed her legs. So unprofessional, but seeing her made her stomach churn. What was Diana going to do? 

“So, History. History, history, history. Such a silly thing, isn’t it? I mean, what do we care about the past? We’re in the present!” The rest of the class hesitantly nodded in agreement, though whether that was because she was controlling them or because they were actually willing to hear her out she could not be sure. 

“The present is so full of wonderful things! While the labors of the past are the reason we have many things, it is our chance and privilege to utilize what has been given to us!” Her charm was infectious; the class was practically eating out of her hand already. As she looked around, Mika could see a few of her classmates smiling and agreeing; she simply pressed her lips together as she listened further. She had no choice. 

“What’s even funnier, about human beings, is that some of the bits of ‘history’ we hear is either made up or completely biased to one side! It’s like a story you read as a child!” She was one to talk... Mika had a feeling that demons were no different on that score. Why would they be when Diana had proven to her the other night that demons could be just as cruel and ruthless as any human, if not more so. 

“You hear of the princess and the prince and they live happily ever after, but what about the family she left behind? What of her friends?” As the class seemed to listen and agree intently on her words, Mika could tell, however, that those words were targeted at her. Diana hadn’t really come to teach a bunch of humans, she was targeting her and Mika knew it. 

“The original story of The Little Mermaid! A perfect example of a biased opinion. Here we have a girl who thinks she can be with this prince, but this prince has to marry a princess! What would happen if the mermaid had her way? What makes the mermaid so important that the princess has to suffer the consequences?” Mika didn’t answer despite that Diana looked at her as if she expected her to speak up. Consequences? What sort of crockery was this? And about a fairy tale no less! Despite that Diana was the ‘teacher’ she had no trouble simply ignoring her. There was no telling what she would do if she talked back. Diana smirked, Mika glared at her; she knew she didn’t need to fight to win. 

“It’s still something to think about, however, as we think of this story. It’s so easy to believe that the mermaid was the heroine, but what of the poor princess? Why should the princess suffer the antics of the mermaid? The princess didn’t do anything wrong to her.” More nonsense, a not-so-subtle subliminal message to make her pity her. She wasn’t going to pity Diana though. How long was she going to drag this out? She wasn’t a real teacher, she had no idea how to really run a class full of students... at least not human students. Diana continued to rave about the injustice the princess had to suffer through while the mermaid was in the prince’s sight. To Diana, it was injustice; to her, it was fairytale. A story meant for entertainment and a lesson about love and loss. The boys  _ choose _ her.  **He** chose her. Diana wasn’t going to convince them otherwise and she certainly wasn’t going to let her nor buy any of this. Diana stretched her arms up, making an obvious sexual noise that made some of the boys in the class shift in their seats. Mika merely rolled her eyes. Did that woman think about ANYTHING other than sex?

“Well, then that’s enough about fairytales. After all, the little mermaid was fated to lose her prince in the original story, anyway. It was for the better, though! The kingdoms, I’m sure, flourished, and the prince and princess lived happily ever after.” Mika’d had enough of this idiocy.

“How can you be so sure?” She stared challengingly at Diana. The other students turned to look at her in shock and confusion; Diana looked over and smiled kindly, but that only made her mad.

“Because I have a hunch.” A hunch? What the hell sort of answer was THAT? Recalling that the boys had left for a reason, even if they hadn’t told her, she boldly continued.

“What if the prince was incredibly unhappy? Could the princess live with herself knowing that the man she married was unhappy?” 

“In that case, the prince and princess’ sense of duty would overrule emotion. Their kingdoms would flourish nevertheless, making their people love them and live happy lives.” Another excuse, it wasn’t an answer to her questions. 

“So the prince is supposed to suffer a marriage he  _ doesn’t _ want for the sake of his kingdom?” 

“It happens all the time in reality. Arranged marriages happen to bring families together and bring wealth out of poverty.” 

“We don’t live in the Dark Ages. Even if we did, that doesn’t make it right, saying that the emotions of the two who are forced into marriage doesn’t count for anything.” The other students applauded, knowing that what she was saying was right. Diana pressed her lips into a thin line out of irritation, signalling her victory over the demoness. Diana stopped talking and looked at the clock on the wall, reading it quickly. Class had barely begun, why was she looking at the time already? She shifted to lean against the blackboard and smiled at the group; that made Mika worry. 

“You know what? School isn’t important. Everyone, go ahead and head home. Take the week off.” The other students looked at one another in confusion, after all, college was hardly cheap and a sudden dismissal like that seemed bizarre. Before anyone could really puzzle it out, however, a messenger came in; announcing something that no one would ever believe to be real.

“Due to an emergency faculty meeting, the school will be closed for the remainder of the day and the rest of the week. All classes are being dismissed until then. Please leave quickly and have a good rest of the week.” That said, the messenger disappeared. She’d used her powers on them. Damn it. It was blatantly obvious to her, but she couldn’t just blurt that out to her fellow students; she felt the need to stop Diana, but how could she stop a demon in the middle of a public area without seeming insane? It wasn’t like she had powers like Diana did. Diana smiled before gesturing to the door. 

“Have a nice week off! School will resume next week!” Most of the students were out the door in a matter of minutes, each of them off in their own world now so it wasn’t a surprise or difficult for Diana to stop her, of all the students, before she could leave. 

“Excuse me, little miss. I’d like you to stay a little while. There’s something we need to discuss.” Mika glared at Diana while the last of the students left the two of them alone, just like Diana wanted. Standing up, she slammed her hands on the desk in front of her as she glared at Diana. 

“What are you doing and what are you thinking?!” 

“What? Do I not make a good teacher? I figured you should have a little lesson so I took matters into my own hands.” 

“Whatever you’re trying to do here won’t work.” 

“You really think so, dear? And what makes you so sure about that?” Why was she so sure? That was a good question. She brushed aside the doubts that were trying to creep into her mind; to cloud it with uncertainties that she’d had just that morning. There was risk involved, in letting the boys stay; if they were ever found out... there’d be hell to pay for sure. Reason and logic overruled that though; how many people actually believed in such things as magic in this day and age? Unless demons and devils suddenly began popping up like daisies and using magic all over the place... the chance of discovery was pretty slim. The chance of someone even believing whoever made that discovery was even slimmer. What about Diana though? Would she force her parents to forget about her completely? Would she ruin her friends’ lives out of spite? As sour as that pill was to swallow, her confidence didn’t fade; no matter what Diana said of herself, what she was trying to do was wrong. That she would ruin lives just to get what she wanted only made it that much worse.... If she was as “grown up” as she seemed to present herself to be, then why was it she couldn’t seem to wrap her brain around the idea that just because you wanted something to happen didn’t mean that it would... especially when that something involved someone else. 


	14. Another Ignorant

What was going on with her? Why was the confidence she had seeming to struggle? After a moment she began to understand... this was Diana’s other power. The ability to dissolve the confidence in someone else. Just like Matthew could make toys and Damien could read minds. She looked up to meet Diana’s eyes only to find her gaze boring into her and that was all she needed to prove that she was right. Diana was trying to influence her; using her powers on her, but this time Mika was away from home. She couldn’t escape and there was no way the boys would know she needed their support... or could she? Did she want to? The way Diana was staring at her was starting to make her feel warm and fuzzy inside; she felt like she was melting. Diana lifted a hand under her child and ran a thumb over her lips, licking her own. Mika could feel little shots of energy zipping from under her skin into her chin where the demoness held her. 

“Now, let’s have a little taste of that sweet, virginal sexual energy...” Her mind snapped to attention despite the influence. This was wrong. Even if she could jerk back because her body was under Diana’s spell as she leaned in, ready to kiss her and take her energy. Half of her body felt elation while the other half completely rejected it in disgust and didn’t even want her to touch her. 

“S-Sam...” The weak plea tumbled from her lips. It was enough to stop Diana in her tracks though. 

“Sam? Who is...” She trailed off as it dawned on her.

“Ahhh.... one of the boys... Why don’t you tell me which boy is ‘Sam’?” Against her will, she nodded.

“T-the third...” Diana giggled before letting go of her face and stepping back.

“Really? The brute? With you?” She didn’t like that. Even so, she nodded once again, but this time it was partly her own decision to reply. Diana let out a sound that mimicked a cat’s purr before taking another step back. 

“Alright then. Well, if it’s the brute you’re infatuated with, you should really re-think your romantic options.” Really? And who was  _ she _ to speak of romance? Diana chuckled before she kissed Mika’s nose, where she felt a shot of energy zap out of her body and almost make her dizzy in recoil. Diana then turned and sat back down on the desk once more. 

“You can go, now. Remember, no class for the rest of the week.” 

“And how am I supposed to get home? I take a scheduled bus, which won't be around again this early in the day!” 

“Is that so? Hehehehe, my apologies. Let me help, then.” Help?! Diana lifted her hand and snapped her fingers. Mika suddenly felt the floor sink from underneath her, forcing her to look down; a purple pentagram surrounded her feet, pulling her into the ground. It was exactly like what she remembered seeing Diana use to make her exit before. 

“W-w-whoa!!!” She had no idea what exactly was going to happen, but before she could fight it she sank fully into the floor; fading into the darkness she shut her eyes. It was only when she felt the silk sheets of her bed around her to soothe her anxiety from the darkness that had previously surrounded her did she actually open her eyes. “Wha... what the...?” Why had Diana sent her home? Was this some sort of an illusion? Was she being tricked? She was certain that something was going on. Sitting up in the bed, she looked around; she was indeed in her room with her things on the floor nearby, there was no mistake about that. Why? 

“Diana... is too strange...” She muttered. Was this a game? A part of her plan to get the boys back? Mika was more lost and confused than ever, despite her logical thoughts trying to piece the puzzle together. The more she tried to solve the puzzle that was Diana, the less she understood about her or this whole situation really. Her thoughts were interrupted, however, by the door suddenly opening and revealing the boys with Damien’s hand on the doorknob.  _ Guess he heard my thoughts. _

“Miss, what are you doing here?” James and the others seemed confused and concerned. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be in school?” Erik asked next, but she furrowed her eyebrows, staring at Damien; asking him to answer their questions through her thoughts as he would be able to pick it out easily enough... hopefully. Her thoughts were a bit scattered. 

“Diana sent her back here. She invaded her school and sent all the students back home.” Damien seemed a little angry at that, Mika didn’t blame him. 

“What is that bitch up to? Seriously! Diana’s playing around for no reason.” She no more had an answer for Sam on that score than any of the other boys seemed to. 

“Maybe it’s part of her plan...”  Matthew seemed uncertain. The boys continued to argue back and forth about Diana, fueling an almost jealous curiosity in her; after all, she didn’t have any siblings to speak of. Damien seemed to be too deep within talking to the others to notice her thoughts, or acknowledge them, as he didn’t even stop talking alongside his brothers as they were all seeming to try and talk over one another. Why was Diana after them? Why did she want to bring them back? What was so important about them that she would travel to the human world to get them? What was going on? She decided enough was enough, if she was going to be dragged into this then she needed answers. 

“HEY!” The boys stopped arguing, staring at her in surprise; after all, she didn’t exactly make it a habit to yell to be heard by them... and had been mostly soft spoken, more or less. Her hands were in fists in her lap as she mustered the courage she needed to continue to speak despite her abrupt shout. 

“Why is Diana here? Why does she want to take you back? What exactly did you all run from? Why did you run from it?” 

“Miss, we-” No, she wasn’t going to be detoured by anything James might think to say!

“Don’t ‘miss’ me! Please! I need to know what is going on. I won’t be left in the dark about this. I want to know what I am facing.” The five of them looked at each other hesitantly, unsure of what to say; after a moment, Sam pushed Damien towards the bed. Caught off guard, he buckled and landed on his knees with his torso over the edge of the mattress. 

“Damien. Do the thing.” 

“The thing? What thing?”

“Sam, you’re not suggesting-” Erik began.

“Why not? She deserves to know everything. Especially if Diana is targeting her.”

“Sam’s right.” Matthew agreed.

“Guess we have no choice, then.” James seemed the most reluctant about this for some reason; she was getting confused. What was Damien about to do? Damien stood before climbing onto the bed with her, sitting across from her on his knees. 

“We’re going to show you everything. You have to trust me, okay? The minute you stop trusting me, the vision will stop.” A vision? Could he do that?

“Vision?”

“You want to know, right? Trust him.” She looked at Sam, unsure of what was going on for the moment, but she nodded. If this was the only way to learn, then this was her chance to know... to know everything about the five boys who had come crashing into her life. Damien gently placed his hands on each side of her head, gently pressing his thumbs into the skin above her eyebrows. She could only stare at Damien in return as his eyes began to glow gold and energy began to both be pulled out of her and forced into her head. Within seconds, her vision went black; she was unsure of what Damien was doing, but soon shapes and textures slowly began to appear around her. 


	15. What Had Been Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you've actually read one of the other routes you can probably skip this chapter and the next, seeing as this vision appears exactly the same in every route.

Mika found herself sitting on a stone floor in the middle of what looked like a fancy throne room; it was like something out of the medieval era, walls and floors decorated in varying patterns and a red carpet that led all the way to what appeared to be a cushioned throne, that was also red. The wall behind it decorated with colorful etchings that seemed to be meant to make the throne seem bigger than it was as well as seem like it was the center of the artistry behind it.

“Where am I...?” She wondered aloud a moment before she remembered that once Sam and Erik had said something about a castle one morning. Huge pillars seemed to line the walls. To say that the place was massive would be an understatement. No wonder Sam was used to yelling just to be heard in another room... Castles, like this one, weren’t really built with acoustics in mind... so one had to be loud just to be heard from more than a few feet away; how annoying that must have been. She looked down at herself as she moved to stand only to find herself translucent, like a ghost. 

“Whoa!!” A jolt of shock and amazement ran through her. She stood up and inspected her hands. She was see-through! That was sort of cool... but why? What was going on here? 

“How dare they try to negotiate with me?! Do they not know whom they speak to?!” The sound of the unknown speaker made her head snap up. She ran behind a pillar; the sound of the voice’s anger and his words, for surely it sounded male, frightened her. She felt a lot like a frightened child. 

“My lord, please calm yourself...” A second voice spoke up. 

“CALM?! They are merely testing my resolve! I have more than half of a mind to send my greatest armies to take what should be mine! They are mere insects in the way of my kingdom’s expansion!” 

“They merely asked for a marriage joining.” 

“So I am to bow to them and share my land, that I have so rightfully conquered?!” Feeling that she wouldn’t be seen, as the boys had said this would be a vision, she peeked from behind the pillar to see a large, gray demon draped with a red, royal cape with what looked to be feathered lining, but who was buff enough to be a military commander. His rage practically emanated from his body as he growled at the other demon, a servant from the looks of it. She’d done enough studying of medieval times to pick out such details. 

“They are willing to give their land to you, sire! All they ask is for one of your sons to marry their daughter, whom I might add is as beautiful as can be!” It was obvious the servant was trying to placate the other. 

“This is ridiculous! To suggest that I need their approval to take their land is beyond insanity. What makes them think that I care about their  _ precious daughter _ ?” The last words were said mockingly. 

“Did I mention that she is a ... prodigy of our kind, sire?” This seem to get his attention.

“A ‘prodigy’?” 

“Yes, my lord! This succubus is a master of her skills in magic and mind manipulation. She is said to sway armies with a snap of her fingers, despite being as young as she is.”  

“Impossible!” 

“If it only were, sire! This succubus is dangerous, but would be a great asset to have should we agree to this arrangement. The only reason she cannot phase you, my lord, is because you are the strongest demon in the plains!” 

“Is this supposed to change my mind?” 

“Yes, my lord.” 

“You are doing a terrible job at convincing me...” 

“My apologies, sire...” She felt lost, were they talking about Diana? Why?

“Father?” She did a double take as she saw a young demon approach, he looked a little like James in that he had the same eyes and hair, but he had golden horns sticking out of his head and a gold pattern that swirled over his skin that looked a lot like some sort of paint though she was sure it wasn’t paint. Like the Demon Lord, his skin was a black color from the waist down, but the rest of him was a more pale, human color. 

“Father... ?” Who was this demon child? 

“Ah. Raestrao. Have you finished your training?” The eldest son? Then this was... James?!

“Yes, father.” 

“Then what do you want.” 

“I want to be with my brothers the rest of the day, father.” The demon commander walked to the younger demon and gripped his hair, picking him up off the ground and forcing him to look up at his snarl. The younger demon, however, looked unfazed... it was as if he’d seen it all before... 

“Huh... arrogance. Why should I allow you to be with them? I should kill you for your lack of respect to me.” 

“Because I want to be with them, father.” Mika stared in something of disbelief at how calm the young demon was, despite the massive difference between them. The young demon seemed weaker and easy to kill in comparison. Why would this man kill his son, though? Was this demon that ruthless? However, she wasn’t expecting him to laugh and release the young demon; yet he did.

“Ahahahahaha!! Good! Assertive even in the face of danger. That is why you are my favorite son.” That clenched it, she was sure now that this was a younger James. Like before, with Matthew’s true name... the name Raestrao stuck fast in her memory, but she was sure she’d probably never use it. Why would she need to when she had Matthew? She could only stare as the commander put his hand on the demon’s shoulder.

“Very well. Go. Tomorrow, you will show me your training.” The younger demon grinned widely before running off. 

“I have a thought.” The Demon Lord said after the younger was out of sight.

“Yes, my lord?” 

“How old is this daughter?” 

“As old as your... fifth, sire.” 

“Do you believe this proposal is worth it?” 

“Yes, sire...” 

“Tell those insects that they are safe for now. I will consider their offer.” 

“Sire?! Are you certain?!”

“Did I stutter? Now go!” The demon servant quickly ran off, but as soon as he passed the pillar that MIka was hiding behind, he and the commander vanished into thin air. 

“W-what the? ... is it...?” She didn’t have time to figure it out before a demon, who looked around her age, walked into the room reading a book. It was the same demon from before... she was sure... just by watching how he moved that this was James. It seemed like him anyway. He was the eldest of the boys and they had said that they’d show her everything... it only made sense... He was certainly a demon in appearance, but he was still more human than she had imagined he might be. 

“Raestro, your nose is stuck in those books. Will you not lift your head up from them once in a while?” The voice of the other demon sounded familiar, but she was unsure who it belonged to as she circled around the pillar to see the other demon, he was leaning against another pillar and smirking at Raestrao. His markings were maroon, as were his horns which curved a little like a ram’s rather than forward, like Raestrao’s. He had violet eyes... only one person she knew had eyes like that... Erik. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be with your mother practicing the harpsichord?” Exasperation colored his tone and she wondered why that was.

“I am, but I had a feeling that you were in danger.” Danger? What did he mean?

“In danger? What are you-” 

“ATTACK!!” A younger voice yelled, all of the sudden three shadows zipped through the room and slammed into Raestrao, forcing him to fall to the ground and drop his book. As the sight cleared up for her, there were three other demons in a dog pile with Raestrao at the bottom.

“Get! OFF!” 

“No way! You haven’t had a break in months from those stupid books! It’s time for PUNISHMENT!!”

“Death by brotherhood!!” The sight was comical, in a way. 

“No more reading!!”

“I told you that you were in danger.” Erik smirked, Mika giggled; she suddenly knew who each of the demons were before her. Even in the demon world, their brotherly connection was astounding. These were merely younger versions of themselves, but she had guessed already that the one on the bottom had to have been James. One of the younger demons, whom she assumed was Matthew by his brilliant blue eyes and silver hair, grabbed the book from the floor and opened it, reading it mockingly. 

“How can you read this, Raestrao? It’s all about war strategy! It’s boring!” 

“I have to, Zecaeru- GET! OFF!!” That only verified her suspicions. The demon in blue with silver eyes was Matthew.... 

“There’s only one thing you need to know about strategy: kill ‘em all!! Take no prisoners!” That sounded like Sam...

“You sound just like father, hahaha!” Mika giggled along with Erik; it was cute to see them acting childish with each other. Eventually, James managed to push his brothers off him and stand, brushing himself off. 

“You all are reckless.” 

“At least we have fun!” 


	16. What Had Once Been

“It’s true. You haven’t been with us in weeks. Don’t you think it’s time for a break?” Erik spoke up. 

“I’m sure father won’t mind!” That was just like Matthew to think so.

“But... I have to-” James began. 

“I know you want to, Raestrao.” She couldn’t help but laugh a little, it was so cute seeing Damien like this! He almost NEVER said anything! It was both shocking and cute really, watching the younger versions of the brothers... exactly how old were they anyway? She brushed off the question, it didn’t really matter.

“Damn it... I-” 

“What is going on here?” Mika almost sighed. Of  _ course _ they would be interrupted... and by their beast of a father no less. He was aged a little, staring at the boys with his arms across his chest. Damien quickly dashed and hid behind Sam, peeking over his shoulder to see the Demon Lord. 

“Nothing is going on. We just passed by each other.” 

“Then why does your brother have your book?” 

“I was showing him what I was learning, father.” 

“Return to your studies, Raestrao. The rest of you, out of my sight. Do not disturb your brother again.” She stared as James gently took his book and, without looking at his brothers, returned to reading. The Demon Lord walked passed the remaining brothers, growling at Sam and Damien, before leaving the room.  _ What was up with that? _

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll find a way to get him back.” Erik reassured the others. 

“I don’t know... he’s on a very tight leash...” Matthew seemed uncertain. Sam looked at Damien who had made a quiet sound.

“Izroul, you’re quiet. What did you hear?” Izroul... so that was Damien’s true name. 

“He’s going to a negotiation meeting... He’s going to arrange a marriage.” 

“A marriage?! For who?” 

“It must be for one of us... “ Matthew trailed off.

“He hasn’t decided who will marry her...  It’s a girl from a kingdom he wants to take over...” 

“But... that’s uncharacteristic of him... Usually he’d just attack with the army.” Erik frowned in puzzlement.

“Whatever the case is, one of us is getting married.”

“I hope it isn’t me...”  _ I can’t blame you for that... but wouldn’t it make more sense to be ... ? _

“What about Raestrao? He is the eldest...” Damien spoke up, as if hearing her thoughts. 

“It would make sense... but having a succubus marrying one of us means that she’ll be practically married to all of us...” Mika wasn’t sure about where Erik had come up with  _ that _ of all things... but at the same time he had a point... seeing as they were so close despite everything.  

“Well, what should we do?” Before the conversation could continue, the group vanished into thin air; fading into different colored mists and letting her know that the vision was changing again. They were replaced by an older Damien and Matthew, sitting with each other in the middle of the throne room. Now that they weren’t huddled together, she was able to get a closer look at them. 

Matthew’s horns were a darker shade of blue than his eyes and seemed smaller than those of his brothers, being only a few feet in length likely. His markings were like ocean waves across his upper arms, torso while a single band seemed to encircle his neck. The rest of his arms were covered in solid blue that was almost black, like he was wearing gloves or something. Damien, on the other hand, had black markings and his horns curved much like a ram’s horns. His markings that covered his torso, arms, legs and neck, made her think of spider legs in their shape. It was a little odd, but not scary to see the brothers this way; after all, they were demons... this was the form, she realized, that Erik had hoped she wouldn’t see in the fight against Malix. Had she thought that she would be scared of him if she saw him as he was here? The thought of his expression, during that fight, flashed in her mind. Well... maybe she might have been, but not because he was a demon... mostly, maybe, an instinctual fear for the power that he had displayed and how easily he had used it to kill. Her thoughts were interrupted when Matthew spoke up.

“Do you think we should?” 

“I really want to.” 

“I want to as well... Still, it’ll be hard to convince Raestrao, since he’s the one about to be married and he’s the favorite...” 

“We don’t know that, Zecaeru. Maybe she’s set to marry YOU.” 

“No way! I don’t wanna get married!” 

“I don’t think you’ll have a problem with that baby-face of yours.” Mika turned to see Sam joining the duo, he crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows at his brothers. She studied him a moment, he looked like his brothers... except that his wavy markings, similar to Matthew’s in pattern, were green like his horns, which jutted out gently in a wave up from his head. Unike Matthew, though the markings near his neck looked like three vicious hooks together. Matthew looked rather unhappy with Sam, which wasn’t unusual.

“What are you two talking about?” 

“We got into contact with the human world again.” Damien replied, closing his eyes as he seemed to do often. This version of him seemed a lot more like the one who was showing her all of this. 

“Come on, Izroul... you give humans too much attention.” 

“No way! You gotta listen! They apparently have stories and books and schools and stuff!” Mika didn’t think Matthew was going to convince Sam to join them that way. 

“So what? It’s full of humans who piss on each other for no reason. They’re no better than the devil-spawn.” Mika frowned at that. Sure, some humans were bad... but not all. 

“Nuh-uh! The one we were talking to wasn’t like that!” 

“How do you know, Zecaeru?!”  

“Because I do!!” Mika wonder if they were talking about her grandfather. 

“What is going on here?” Mika finally got a very good look at James too, aside from having large horns that curved forward and were larger than even his father’s horns, they were a deep bronze while his markings were a dark gold that seemed to flow across his arms and torso like gentle figures. Mika remembered Erik had said that they each had different mothers and so that was why they looked so different from one another though they did share some traits.

“They want to go to the human world.” Sam said, like it was the most boring thing ever.

“The human world?” 

“Raestrao, think about it! You won’t have to marry that girl and be the heir anymore! You could be with us and we can make lives for ourselves in the new world!” Even though she knew how this likely ended, because she knew each of the boys, she wondered if Matthew would convince James. Was this the right point in time? It was hard to know. 

“Now you’re just talking nonsense!” Sam protested.

“I vote that we do it.” Erik chimed in. Now that her attention could focus on him, she got a better look at Erik’s markings. They were like gentle flower stems in the way that they curved over him and ended in rounded points though his markings looked like they were almost a brown rather than the bright maroon that his horns were, which curved, she saw, less like that of a ram than Damien’s were, but still similar curve.

“Huh? Oh not you, too!” Sam seemed to groan.

“Think about it. This might be our chance to finally get away from this political nonsense we’re stuck in. We may be nobles, but we’re still our own beings.” She nodded, that they were. James didn’t say a word.

“Raestrao is in.” 

“Wha- Izroul!” Mika giggled a little, she wondered what Erik’s real name was, Erik’s was the only one she hadn’t heard, but she shrugged it off. She really didn’t need to know. 

“Woo!! So, how do we get there?” 

“Are you kidding me? You don’t even know how we’d get there?!” 

“A simple spell  _ should _ work, but it would require someone from the human world to help us get there.” Erik replied. 

“We can ask him!” Matthew seemed excited, it was cute.

“Ah! He’d definitely help us!” She was sure that Damien meant her grandfather; things seemed to click in her mind now. 

“I’m... I’m not so sure about-” 

“Raestrao. Aren’t you tired of pleasing father all of the time?” Erik cut in.

“I am, but-” 

“If you stay, you’ll be married off and become ruler of father’s kingdom. You’ll have no time for yourself or with us and you’ll be constantly at war with the other realms for power. You’ll most likely turn into the spitting image of father.” The idea didn’t seem to appeal to James and she suddenly began to understand what it was he was running from... what they  _ all _ were. 

“What he’s saying is get your head out of your ass and let’s go! If you don’t say yes, I’ll drag your princely ass with us. I don’t care what that bastard of a father wants.” 

“Come on, Raestrao...” Matthew seemed to plead. 

“Alright. Let’s do this. What’s the plan?” He asked and the others smiled, she finally had the whole history right in front of her and understood the brothers now more than ever. They had sacrificed everything to be together. They’d rather be free than remain in their noble roles. Mika started to feel a little jealous; they were able to leave while she was still expected to be what her father wanted her to be. How they were able to leave was uncertain in details, but she knew she would learn in time. 


	17. A Nobel Rebel

Mika closed her eyes and mentally asked Damien to end the vision. As soon as she asked, the world around her slowly vanished and she was brought back to the bedroom where she sat with her head nestled in Damien’s hands. Her vision began to clear, letting her fully see the boys around her, all of them wore concern on their faces; were they expecting her to be scared of them or something? 

“So, you now know exactly who we are...” James, of course, was the first to speak up. 

“Diana is the girl you were arranged to marry?” 

“Not anymore. Once we left, the arrangement was broken. With no sons to marry off, our dad couldn’t go through with the marriage deal.” 

“If Diana is here for us, that means she’s trying to save her kingdom from being attacked.” Mika almost agreed with Erik until Damien spoke.

“That’s not true. She wants to rule our kingdom. Having one of us will give her the right to our kingdom as much as we’d have right over hers.”

“So she’s a gold-digger!” Well... Matthew wasn’t wrong in that assumption, it seemed. 

“Well, with a kingdom like ours, what succubus wouldn’t want to marry us for it?” She nodded in thought, it did seem like such a great thing, but in truth she knew it wasn’t... at least not for the boys. She thought over Diana’s analogy in class. It wasn’t just her trying to sway her over to her side, it seemed, but was almost a full-blown comparison to her own problems. Knowing what she did now... Diana certainly wasn’t evil... but that didn’t make what she was trying to do right either... Whether her motives were really what Damien had said or what Erik had suggested, it didn’t really matter, the question now was what they should do about it. It seemed, in her mind, that Diana had come to bring them back because she knew that, despite her powers, she wouldn’t be able to fight their father, so she had to find another way. The entire concept of it gave her a headache and she wasn’t sure if she hated Diana for it or pitied her at this point. Suddenly she felt her head grow heavy and she felt dizzy. She gripped her head, mewling under her breath. 

“W-what the...” 

“I took too much! I’m so sorry!” 

“It’s okay.” 

“Rest now. There’s no need to do anything more today.” Mika nodded a little in agreement with Jamie’s words even as the other boys rushed over and helped her lay back down as now her vision was painted in white polkadots. She needed sleep, badly. Instantly she closed her eyes and let the darkness of sleep consume her. After what seemed like hours, she finally woke up, slightly refreshed. Her body knew that if she slept any longer she’d be up all night, which was not part of the plan for the day. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, letting a soft groan escape her lips. In response, something beside her bed shuffled, causing her to look over. She didn’t know what she was expecting. Beside her, sitting in a chair beside the bed, was Sam, ; he was rousing himself up only to see that she was wake. She smiled at him, seeing his slightly ruffled hair and tired eyes, aware that he must have been watching over her. 

“Oh, you’re awake...” He yawned.

“How do you feel?” 

“Better” He nodded before he looked down at the bed, leaning over it as if to stare at the blanket. 

“I’m such an idiot. If I was stronger, you wouldn’t be like this...” 

“Sam, it’s not your fault-” 

“No. It’s my fault. It’s  **our** fault. Look at you: you’re in bed again, after us using our powers,  **again** , and you’re a target,  **again** , because of us. We never should have come...” She slipped a hand from his and gently lay her fingers over his lips, stopping him from going any further. She didn’t want to hear him blame himself and his brothers anymore. 

“Sam... it’s okay. I wanted to help you out. I offered to let you all stay. Nothing is your fault.” She gently moved her hand and cupped his cheek, staring at him with concern. She didn’t want him to hold guilt in his mind about this whole ordeal. Diana was desperate, she’d hunt anyone down for them. It wasn’t his fault she was desperate enough to hunt them down. He looked at her, defeated by her hand, before he closed his eyes and let out a sigh; however, she couldn’t help but be curious and want to know more about Sam and the life he’d had.

“So, Sam, you’re a noble?” He opened his eyes to look at her. He didn’t seem angry, but he had a coldness in his voice as he spoke.

“I  _ was _ a noble. I’m not a noble anymore.” 

“Not anymore?” 

“I was the third son of the Demon Lord. My brothers and I lived together in the castle as nobility, but since James was the oldest, he became royalty and was heir to the throne. The whole situation became one gigantic boring mess, so we all grouped together and left to come here. Once that happened, we surely lost the chance to ever get forgiveness.”

“What was it like while you were there?” 

“Like I said: one gigantic, boring mess. Erik, Matthew and I were there as replacements in case James fucked up. Since Erik was before me and since my dad was a dickbag, I wasn’t ever likely to get the throne, so I just spent my days lazing about and not giving two shits about anything. Not even my mom could control me.” 

“Your mom?” 

“Yeah. She’s not like my asshole of a dad. She was actually caring and kind, but was a pushover.” He let out a small laugh, she could tell that he was getting nostalgic the more he spoke. 

“She always thought I could be more than I was, but my dad definitely made sure I knew my place. In response, I became the rebel son, hanging out with the commoner demons and such just to piss my dad off. I swear, I’m surprised he didn’t kill me out of shame.”

“That’s horrible!” He stared at her as if she’d slapped him; then he sighed and ruffled her hair a bit.

“Don’t even worry about it. You need rest. You don’t need to know about the demon world.” Perhaps not, but it was part of who Sam was.

“But I want to know more about you.” He stared at her, once again, as if she’d slapped him. She couldn’t tell whether she was pissing him off or intriguing him. He let the hand that was ruffling her hair fall down to the strands, stopping at her cheek to cradle it. For a strong man, Sam knew how to be gentle... Sam let out a sigh before unlinking his dog tag from around his neck and putting it around hers.

“I’m warning you: my past is boring.” He wrapped his fingers gingerly around the dog tag and she watched as green mist began to surround his hand and the dog tag. The green aura wrapped around the necklace until it snaked around her head and before she knew it, she was surrounded in green light. When the light had subsided, she was back in the main hall of the demon castle. She looked around, feeling unable to move, but she could practically see everything as clear as she had before in the vision Damien had given her.

“BRING THAT BACK!!!”  her head shot towards the sudden exclamation, she saw Sam rush into the hall with a very large basket of bread.

“No chance in Hell, creepo!” Sam then did what she’d only ever seen done in TV shows or movies: he stomped his foot onto the ground, causing a large boulder to burst out from it, before he kicked it towards the entrance he’d just come from. She could only stare as not only did the boulder  **not** demolish the door it was sent flying towards, but it skidded to a stop to merely block the entrance. 

“Heh. That was easy.” Sam turned into the hall, looking around as he walked towards the throne. He took a small roll of bread and stuffed it into his mouth, only able to cover half ot if as he stared at the seat. Why had Sam stolen that bread? Why would he? He was a rebel, yes, but he was a noble. He wouldn’t get in trouble for taking food in the castle, but he had a basket of bread. Sam chewed and swallowed the bread he’d started consuming then sighed. 

“Fuckin’ asshole piece of shit parent...” 

“At least you have your folks.” Another voice said, causing her to turn to see another demon step from behind a pillar towards Sam. He was dressed in a trench coat, and jeans; he had a dog tag around his neck and enormous bat-like wings that seemed to be almost as tall as he was; dark eyes matched the dark red streak in black hair that slicked back. Sam smirked at him and tossed him the basket of bread. 

“Think that’s enough for you and your brother?’ 

“More than enough. This means a lot, man.” 

“Don’t mention it, Gaku.” Gaku smiled and held out a hand to Sam, who took it and shook it.

“We owe you for this.” 

“You don’t owe me jack shit. Now get going before you get caught.” Gaku nodded; however, he quickly got out a set of dog tags from his trench coat and held it out for Sam. Sam stared before reaching out and taking it. 

“What is this?” 

“A gift. A human world trinket. I know you and your brothers have been interested in it. Maybe this might bring you closer to it.” Same stared before looking down at the gift; it was glimmering silver, almost entrancing Sam’s gaze. As he looked back up, Gaku lifted off of the ground and flew out an open window into the almost sickly purple sky. 

“The human world...” Sam looked back down at the trinket before wrapping it with green magic.

“Like I can get any closer.” He tossed the dog tags into the air, letting it vanish into an unknown oblivion. She smiled a bit at the sight, knowing the future of that; what surprised her was a green orb that slowly floated towards Sam, it was wrapped in a purple-like aura. Sam didn’t even turn around, but spoke as if he knew.

“What do you want, mom?”  _ MOM?! _ How was that orb his mother?!? The orb simply floated in place as Sam turned to it with an almost angry glare.


	18. Diana's Offer

“Yes, I stole that break and gave it to the commoner, alright? Don’t judge me.” Once again, Sam wasn’t responded to, at least not from what she could hear. Sam clicked his teeth and crossed his arms, peeved.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” The orb then floated over to Sam and lightly brushed his cheek before flying off, disappearing into the air. He sighed, rolling his shoulders. 

“I need to get out of here...” He looked like he had a lot on his mind, but his mouth wouldn’t let him speak; however, none could question his irritation. Eventually, Sam stopped the magic, taking the dog tag off of her and holding it in his hands before looking to her.

“What did I tell you? Boring.” 

“You helped that demon get food.” It brought to mind the folk tale of Robin Hood.

“I was a rebel breaking rules. We’re not supposed to care for common demons. We’re supposed to let them die out if they don’t have the ability to take care of themselves.” To her that sounded like an excuse not to admit doing something for someone else, but she wasn’t going to point that out. Sam gritted his teeth and let out an aggravated sigh.

“Whatever. I’m not there anymore. I’m here.” 

“Sam...” 

“Look... I’m sorry.” She stared. What was he apologizing for? He stared down at the blankets again. 

“You’ve done a lot for me and my brothers... Sheltering us, letting us continue to live here... It may not seem like much, but for us, it means everything... Especially after everything that’s happened to you with that Hell-spawn Malix and Diana being crazy... I don’t think we’ll ever be able to repay you for what you’ve done...” She watched in speechless silence as Sam lifted his head, his eyes almost full of hopelessness. Why did he think that she wanted them to repay her? Hadn’t they done enough as it was? Did he not see all the things that they had done in return for her? 

“Thank you.” He lowered his head and gently, almost as if it she was fragile, placed his hand over hers. She couldn’t help but feel her heart squeeze within her chest at the sight. He truly cared... He let out a small sigh before looking to her, removing his hand from hers.

“Now, get some sleep. You still need rest. We’ll wake you up when dinner is done.” He smiled and gently pressed her back down onto the bed. She knew, though it wasn’t right to let him leave without doing something to show that she cared for him in return. That she had seen the man beneath the “tough guy” and cared for that man. She quickly pulled Sam down to her, lifted her head, and gently kissed him; softly laying a hand on his cheek to keep his face close. He stared in deep surprised before hesitantly returning the kiss, caressing her cheek and slightly melting at the touch of their lips. A soft sigh escaped his lips before he slowly pulled away with a smile; this time it reached his eyes and made her heart beat a little faster. He gently licked his lips, making her flush at the simple gesture; he let out a satisfied sigh before running a hand through her hair.

“Sleep, doofus...”  He said gently, and with that he stood up and left the room, leaving her to rest as per his request. There was a strange sort of affection there so she felt flustered by the name rather than offended, as she might have been had anyone else called her that. She smiled before relaxing into the mattress. The sound of familiar laughter, though, had her bolting up again, tensing.  She felt majorly uneasy. Something wasn’t right. She could feel it in her core. 

“ _ She _ must be here.” The thought of Diana in the house again infuriated Mika beyond belief. She had to make sure that she wasn’t just hearing things... that she wasn’t here. Mika quickly left her room, wandering the halls and listening closely. Diana was a demon, but she was listening very intently. There was no way that she would have been able to sneak up on her. 

“I know you’re here... where are you...?” She felt herself growl. It wasn’t a matter of fear that she’d take away the boys anymore; but her very existence had lit a fire of rage within her gut which only grew as each day went by. This feud was getting on her nerves and she knew it would not end well for one of them. She wasn’t going to lose to that demon bitch and that was that. 

“What the fuck do you want?” The sound of Sam’s voice let her know where Diana was; her heart stopped at the thought of the demoness with him. Her mind flew into slow motion, playing fake images of Diana trying to seduce Sam. She followed the sound of Sam’s voice to the grand lobby, hiding herself behind the corner of the hall; she peeked into the space and down at the scene below. She saw Sam by the foot of the stairs with Diana sitting on the railing, looking at him. 

“My, my, such a brute. Didn’t your mother teach you how to treat a woman?”

“She isn’t here and, frankly, you shouldn’t be either.”   

“Ahh! I’m hurt. Wounded, truly.” 

“Peh. Like I care, you crazy bitch.” 

“Pity, and here I thought I was going to offer you the chance to become something better than just a simple incubus...” What was Diana going on about? More than just an incubus? She was insane.

“Like you got anything I care about.” 

“How about becoming the next Demon Lord?” He looked at her in shock while Mika froze. What did she mean? Becoming the next Demon Lord? The boys weren’t in the demon world anymore. They had no claim to the throne anymore... Sam stared at Diana, which made her worried.

“You’re bluffing.” 

“Well, currently, I am the contracted bride to the heir to the throne. Since the throne is open, it’s available to any son of the Demon Lord’s line.” He didn’t reply to that.

“Think about it. You’ll gain the throne, the land, and a bride to continue your lineage with... Doesn’t that sound like a perfect life for an incubus like you?” Mika gripped her fists tightly in anger; she knew that offer was a very tempting one... She couldn’t help but feel anger though over how she was trying to convince Matthew to return to the demon world. He’d run away from it with his brothers. He didn’t have to back. He  **shouldn’t** go back... not to that... Still, in the silence that prevailed, her mind began to wonder; imagining him saying yes. He would leave and the brothers would follow to bring him back. They’d be trapped because Diana would make sure they could never leave. Sam would be the new Demon Lord with Diana as his queen and she... she’d lose him.

“You must be crazier than I thought.” 

“What?” She asked in irritated disbelief while Mika felt surprise run through her. Had she heard Sam correctly? He’d denied her? 

“You dare deny-” In an instant Sam’s body disappeared from sight as did Diana’s. Mika blinked and saw that Sam gripped Diana by the neck, pinning her body to the wall near the dining room archway. Her feet couldn’t even touch the floor and she felt herself unconsciously rub at her own neck at the sight. 

“For once in your life, shut your fucking mouth!” She could hear the echo of his natural voice and wondered fleetingly if that was because he’d released some of his power; she could see Sam’s muscles tense and flex at holding Diana, wanting to tense more to snap her neck. 

“You do not scare me. I can bring you to your knees and make you beg to return with me on a chain leash.” 

“Then  **do it** . I wanna see you  **try** to chain me.” Something told Mika that such a thing would be messy... Sam glared as Diana stared almost in fear of him. Mika expected her to actually do it; however, after a small breath of a moment, Sam smirked.

“Heh. Called it.” Was Diana bluffing? He released Diana, letting her body fall to the floor; she gripped her neck, coughing for air as Sam stepped back, glaring at her.

“You’re out of power. You’ve been running without recharging and now you’re on your last life.” 

“Shut up!” She glared and stood up, flipping her hair back to its almost unnaturally sexy style.

“What’s stopping me from taking your little human’s energy?” 

“You go anywhere near her again and I will rip you apart.” Mika felt herself flush a little at how protective he seemed of her.

“Pfft! The human girl? You must be joking. A human like her can’t possibly provide you what you need. She’s a human, you’re a demon.” Since when did THAT make any difference? Incubi sustained themselves on sexual energy... when did it matter WHERE that energy came from?! That was the final straw. She was tired of all this. It was time to set this ignorant, piece of shit succubus straight... She rushed down the steps to be in front of Sam. Diana and Sam both looked at her in surprise as she glared daggers at Diana.

“Get. Out.” 

“Well, well, little human. You’re awfully nosey in business that doesn’t concern you.” 

“It  **does** concern me.” 

“Does it? I don’t think a human would understand the importance of this affair.” She really was an idiot... did she not know anything about the human world? About how it operated now? How it used to?! From what she could see, demons were still living in the Dark Ages and  _ that _ was a shame but that didn’t mean she was just going to step aside and let Diana have her way because of such stupidity.


	19. Love

“You’re asking him to leave, to be someone he doesn’t want to be. That’s not going to happen.” 

“Oh? And what makes you so sure about that?” 

“Because I love him.” This wasn’t the way she’d wanted to tell Sam, but the shock in Diana’s eyes was worth it. Was it not what she expected from her? Screw her expectations, she didn’t care what that demon before her expected; she wasn’t going to lose the man she had grown to love.  

“You... love him?” 

“Yes. I love him.” She reaffirmed without hesitation, her heart beating in her chest; churning with the emotions she felt just then. There was no doubting it, she loved Sam... loved everything about him and with equal strength she despised what Diana was trying to do. She couldn’t see his reaction but sensed he was as surprised as Diana at the admission. Diana’s lips twitched, the edges curling into an amused smirk as she stared at Mika. 

“So what? A human’s love isn’t enough to understand this situation. A demon can never reciprocate human feeling.” Her heart thumped painfully in her chest, but she didn’t care about that. Diana obviously didn’t understand how the human heart worked... how love worked. When it was love, true and pure... it understood everything. It didn’t judge and it didn’t need someone to reciprocate it. It was self-sustaining and one of the most powerful things on the planet. Love had stopped wars, had changed human minds... it could be the very reason that two very different cultures would lay down their weapons, no matter how long the feud between them had been, and embrace one another... love was a very powerful thing indeed and it brought about miracles every single day. She almost pitied the demon before her who seemed to know nothing of what love could do, of what love was. To both of their surprise, Sam stepped forward and put an arm around Mika, pulling her close to his body.

“I love her.”  The conviction and confidence in his quiet tone, let alone the words, sent her heart pounding in her chest in pure joy. The confidence Diana had shattered in her eyes as she stared at Sam at his words. She could see the struggle in her face to try and find some weakness in Sam. In her. Anything. There was no weakness in love, however, 

“A demon love a human...? Impossible.” 

“Are you deaf? I said I love her. You don’t have the brains to understand what love is. It’s not just a human emotion. Demons like us can feel it, too. You just have your head so far up your ass that you refuse to see it, just like how you refuse to see that you’ve lost.” Diana took a step back, seeming to physically feel the sting of Matthew’s words; she had lost. It was evident in her eyes now. Diana’s eyes grew dull as she glared at the two of them. It seemed almost uncharacteristic of her, yet, it was something that she wasn’t surprised to see come from her. 

“Very well... Fine... Vale.” What the heck was that suppose to mean? Diana faded into the ground into a purple pentagram, as she had previous times, crossing her arms and almost looking... upset. Sam and her were left alone, left with the silence of the room; Mika finally let out the breath she’d unconsciously been holding, relaxing from the ordeal. Sam stepped closer to her and held her gently, surprising her. 

“You alright?”  She nodded in response, unable to speak so immediately after being surprised like that. He let out a sigh, relaxing in the embrace; she turned and gently placed her hands around him, returning the embrace slightly. She could hear his heartbeat as her head lay against his chest; as he held her close in his arms she felt safe beyond words.

“Thank you, for defending me...” 

“There’s no way I’d let her hurt the one I love.” She looked up at him then, wondering at  his words; Erik, moving a strand of her hair from her face as he looked down at her. She was sure there was a faint blush on her cheeks. 

“I’m an asshole, yeah. Do I deserve to like you? No. I don’t deserve to be holding you now... But... You... I just... I love you, okay? I love you.” She knew she was staring, blushing like a maniac by this time. Was this real? No way. This couldn’t be real... it had to be a dream right? Was  _ Sam  _ confessing to her? Confessing his  _ love _ for her?  He gently caressed her cheek, staring into her eyes with a loving, almost hopeful expression. The warmth of his hand invited her to nuzzle into it; she did so, closing her eyes. She felt the truth of it. This wasn’t some dream. Her heart was pounding hard enough that she was sure Sam could hear it. She opened her eyes to look at him, he gently leaned in, closing his eyes; he stopped, however, remaining just a mere torturous inch away from her lips. It was obvious. He wanted her to show her feelings for him. He had left himself open for her to kiss him or leave him empty. The power she suddenly had over him, it was unbelievable...  She loved him though and wanted to give him exactly what he wanted. She gently leaned in, letting her lips finally touch his gingerly. He let out an almost surprised gasp against her lips before wrapping both of his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She moved her arms up around his neck, feeling the kiss between them deepen to a heated height. Her chest was pounding, making her both feel and see fireworks in her mind. Sam was everything that she desired. He was the man that she wanted, demon or not; noble or not, it didn’t matter to her. It never had. Since the first moment he had appeared before her with his brothers and his apology words to her after he had taken a kiss from her... to the way he had defended her against Malix... and again defending her against Diana... He was the sweetest person she had ever had the pleasure of meeting, even if he didn’t seem that way to others because he went about it in a way that was so brutally honest... He didn’t care what others thought of him outside those he cared for and that took courage... Courage and strength of character that was rare to see. She knew he could be strong when she needed him to be, that she could rely on him to help her when she needed help... She didn’t need sweet words or promises from him as long as he was by her side. It was like some fairytale. It was her fairytale. It was all so supernatural; it fall in love with someone so quickly. Maybe it was because of the sense of magic she’d been thrown into, maybe it was Cupid playing with her heart... or maybe something more. It didn’t matter, she found herself melting at the thought of him being with her. She soon found herself combing her fingers through his hair, making the man who held her softly tremble at her touch. He gently nibbled on her lower lip, asking her to deepen the kiss between them even further. She easily teased him a moment by nipping back before she opened her mouth a bit for him. His tongue gently danced with hers as one of his hands slid up her back and cradled her head. He gently leaned her back, making her cling to him for balance as the heat of their kiss rose higher and higher. Gently, though, Sam slowed the kiss down and pulled away, staring down at her. His eyes burned for her, wanting her to melt and buckle in his arms. She could feel herself begin to melt already just by meeting his eyes. His gaze alone made her feel weak in the knees. He opened his mouth to speak, but as a very small blush ran along his cheeks, he was reduced suddenly to shy silence. She stared at he tried to find the words to say, meeting her gaze as if the words were written in her eyes for him to read. She knew what he wanted; she could feel it in the way he was holding her, the way he looked at her. He didn’t need energy, though, right? She hadn’t forgotten what had happened last time when he had needed energy. She’d blacked out and while she had enjoyed the heated kisses they’d shared on the roof then, it was a mite embarrassing to realize she’d passed out even after it had happened. Apparently that was the result of having her energy taken so thoroughly like that, but because he had... he’d been able to deal with Malix like the gnat he was. She was certain that her energy that she’d given him had contributed to that, he’d said as much back then. Even then, she realized, she had begun to love this man for who he was... even without knowing his past, without knowing his real appearance... she had fallen head over heels for this demon.   

“Are you...?” She asked, uncertain.  

“No... I just...” So she was right, he didn’t need the energy. She stared, feeling the blush on her cheeks grow. He didn’t say anything more, but he didn’t need to really, she knew what words would have followed if he’d continued. He wanted her. Plain and simple. She was stunned, honestly. Was she really that appealing to him? Did his passion really run that deep for her? He gently nuzzled her forehead, losing his blush and finally being able to speak. 

“If you don’t want to, we don’t have to... I do have to shower after all and you need your rest...” The last words were said more gently even as he let her go, they stood there now; him waiting for her answer and her trying to wrap her mind around it all. Mika felt her mind go numb and purr at the idea. A moment with an incubus.  **Her** incubus... He was a demon of sex, the purest form of lust and desire. Her world would rock and she knew she would enjoy every second of it. At the same time, she was indeed... inexperienced. Diana wasn’t wrong when she had claimed Mika to be innocent of such things. Did she want to give that innocence to him? Especially this early in their relationship? As she thought it over, she suddenly found herself forgetting the words ‘yes’ and ‘no.” What could she say to him to truly express what she felt then? She knew, suddenly what she wanted to say, but how to say it without breaking the moment... 


	20. Seduce Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who haven't played the game, this chapter is named after the choice to have sex with the chosen incubi (in this case, Sam); you can skip over this chapter if you want to. It's not really relevant to the story line itself (though it does have some relevance in the game) and all you need to know about the end of the chapter is at the bottom (if you want to scroll down).

“Seduce me.” She couldn’t believe the two words that had suddenly slipped out of her mouth. It made the most sense to her then to tell him yes. She needed him. She wanted him. Those two words must have made something in him finally break. Sam quickly wrapped his arms around her and, all of the sudden, she felt wind breeze past her as the world zipped by. She gripped onto Sam, despite it only lasting a mere second. When the world relaxed she found that they were in her room, on her bed, with Sam above her. He was red in the face, but he had a look of determination that was quickly fading. She stared as Sam quickly realized what he was doing; he sat up, his blush deepening. Mika giggled before sitting up as well and caressing his cheek with a knowing smile. He must have been nervous; she was too, but she wanted this to happen. She wanted to see him and give herself to him. She gently guided his head to her, kissing him slowly and bringing him back into the mood; wordlessly reassuring him that it was okay to be nervous, they’d work through this together. Sam let his vest slide down his arms and tossed it to the side before cradling her head in his hands and kissing her deeply. She felt heat rise in her body, making her undo the tie underneath her collar and release the buttons on her own shirt. She quickly removed the shirt and vest, making him pause in kissing her and stare at her in slight surprise; she was now only in her bra, but she could feel a blush invade her cheeks. Her shy side began to creep up into her mind. Did she really want this? To undress before a demon? No, this wasn’t just a demon, he was the man she loved, yet she felt her innocence drape over her in almost shame. As if he knew, Sam gently caressed her cheek, smiling before removing his own shirt and revealing his chest. He gently held her in his arms, constantly looking to make sure she was okay. It warmed her heart to see him being so concerned, but she knew that their heat needed to be fulfilled. He pulled her close, knowing that she was still shy, and began to kiss her lips over and over. Each kiss was his promise to keep her safe, comfortable, to love her. She kept her arms wrapped around him, taking each kiss he gave and giving him her own kisses in return. She didn’t know if it was the fact that they were both top nude or maybe she just craved his touch, but she didn’t want to let him go. As he held her, however, she could feel a slight shiver in his hands. Was she his first? If so... she knew he wasn’t going to tell her. He wanted  her to enjoy this moment, but seemed afraid of screwing up; his shivering hands showed her his emotions perfectly. As he laid her down and knelt over her, he smiled and finally embraced her as they both desired. The pleasure between them was heavenly and they went through it together in every kiss, every touch. She closed her eyes as she arched beneath him and gave herself to Sam completely. Her body, her mind, her soul: it all belonged to him as he held her. His body, his mind, his soul: it belonged to her as she gave into his embrace. The feel of his kisses and fingers over her skin would forever engrave themselves into her memory as their passion rose to incredible heights with each kiss and touch that they received and gave one another. Their breathing quickened and their moans to each other equally sounded and echoed like a blissful chant that they never wished to end. They moved, loved, felt every inch of their bodies as they melded together until they’d had enough and she was enveloped in his embrace as they reached the peak height. Skin to skin, heartbeats matching, they held each other in the glow of the aftermath. She nuzzled her head under Sam’s chin as he held her close.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” Just to hear those words come from Sam’s mouth made her heart flutter; to hear her own answer made her soul warm in joyous rapture. They both sank into a peaceful sleep together; it was the best sleep she’d had in days and she was happy. There were no regrets in her mind. She had love, happiness; her life was simply perfect in that moment. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself staring into Sam’s bare chest. She blushed, but looked up to see Sam still sleeping. To see him sleeping made her giggle softly in pure happiness, but the reality of the situation also made her heart flutter. She almost couldn’t believe it. She was lying next to the man she had grown to love with all her heart, warmed by his body heat even after the aftermath of their love making had vanished. His warm embrace made her feel safe and, as the tender moment they’d shared replayed in her head, she couldn’t help but smile and snuggle into his chest further. Unconsciously, he held her tighter to his body, giving her more of his warmth. She didn’t want to move, she was perfectly content and happy where she was at. Her mind didn’t wander as she simply basked in the feeling of joy and contentment that came with being in his embrace, nevermind that neither of them wore anything beneath the silk covers that draped over them gently. He was everything she could ever want in a partner... kind, caring... Loving, but also fierce when he needed to be and there was no doubt that he had both the power and the skill to protect her, should the need ever arise again. While there was a certain part of her that had been thrilled he’d been so adamant about protecting her... that he had trusted her with his true name to use to summon him whenever and wherever she may need him... she also hoped that she would never need to ever use it. Well... not like that anyway. She hadn’t been daring enough, but the thought of saying his true name at the height of passion had crossed her mind. She just wasn’t sure how he’d react if she did something like that. She pursed her lips in thought over the matter. Should she ask first? She really was sorely tempted, but she didn’t want to cross some line. After all, it wasn’t something to be taken lightly... but neither was the love that she felt for him. Even if it had risen quickly over the few days she’d gotten to know him and his brothers. Despite that she knew more about them from the vision, she knew she still didn’t know everything. Mika felt that there was more behind each of the brothers, that their past delved deeper that what she’d been shown... even the extra that Sam had shown her through the dog tags had been only a small glimpse into the life he’d led. She knew that life wasn’t pretty for Sam and his brothers, but she couldn’t help her curiosity there anymore than she could stop herself from imagining the reaction Sam might have if she had allowed herself to be bold enough to groan his true name out in pleasure.... She was sure it would be worth it... if he was okay with it that was. She didn’t want to make him mad at her for any reason... so yeah... she would have to ask him about that at a later time. As she tried to imagine how the conversation would go, she felt her core tighten and it made her move from his embrace and sit up without waking the man next to her. She felt her body begin to move, but it wasn’t of her own will and she had a feeling she knew who was behind this because while she was bold with Erik  she really wasn’t bold enough to simply do as she was about to. She moved to the balcony window and opened the glass, stepping out on the patio without even bothering to dress first. Yeah, she definitely did not have THAT much bravado in her, which only made her angry that she was being forced into this even as the cool night air played over her skin. It took away the heat that she had gained in Sam’s embrace. She stared at Diana, who sat cross-legged on the railing of the balcony; her glowing red eyes staring at her, not caring about whether or not she had any clothes on as their eyes met.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who skipped down here and not wanting to read the scene above, all you need know is that Diana has compelled the main character to her, with her magic, where she sits on the balcony.


	21. Her Again

Mika opened her mouth to object, but Diana stopped her. 

“Before you get all huffy, I didn’t come here to take your precious man away. By the way, how was it exactly? Demons are the best lovers, after all...” There was no way she was answering that. She didn’t care if Diana was a demon herself. That experience was between her and Matthew and it was going to stay that way. She simply glared at her in answer to that question.

“What do you want, Diana?” 

“Well, I just wanted to see how you  **truly** feel. You know, without him around to influence you?” 

“What are you talking about?” What the heck was that supposed to mean? 

“I’m giving you an opportunity to come clean about these feelings of yours and to give you your salvation...” Salvation? That was a laugh. Since when did demons offer THAT sort of service to humans? She was up to something. This was beyond crazy or desperate. Nothing she had done made any sense really. Why was she even still alive at this rate? Why hadn’t Diana just killed her? 

“What’s keeping you from just killing me and taking them?” 

“Heh. You’re not worth my time.” What? 

“Not worth your time? What, are you afraid something might happen?” Suddenly Mika was lifted into the air and moved over past the railing, leaving her with nothing but the ground below to threaten her with a collision that meant instant death at the height they were at. 

“Oh trust me, dear. I’m not afraid to kill you. I can drop you right now and leave your body to rot until the morning when the boys would find you.” Mika wanted to speak, but the thought of Diana letting her go and letting her fall to her death scared her voice into silence. She hadn’t been scared of death before... but she hadn’t had someone who depended on her to be alive before either until just recently... Diana chuckled and willed her body back to the balcony, setting her down gently.

“Alas, if I kill you, then the boys would never come with me willingly back to the demon world and then I’d have to chase them all around the world or kill them and drag them back, but then their father wouldn’t be happy and blah blah blah.... Too much work.” It sounded like it. Diana seemed very business oriented, as if the boys were cargo more than men; it irked her, but then Diana smiled. 

“I’m giving you one chance to denounce your love for the demon in your bed and let me take him and the other boys back to the demon world.” So that was it. They were back to that again; she knew that Diana was up to something. 

“And why, may I ask, would I do that?” 

“There are so many reasons why, actually. There’s the reason that he’s a demon and you’re a human, so you two can never truly have a happily ever after. Then there’s the reason that demons truly do not know how to love, despite what he may proclaim. The list goes on and on.” Seriously? Was she so ignorant that she thought “happily ever after” actually existed for humans? That was a joke. Mika might have been brought up in a family that had known wealth, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t seen the reality around her; she went to a nice school, yes, and was blessed to have a lot of things, but no human ever lived “happily ever after.” Not even real life princes and princesses who married for love instead of duty or because of the reasons that Diana had mentioned off-handedly when she’d been trying to persuade her to give up the boys while she’d been at school. There was no such thing. Happily ever after was just a phrase used to end a story, a fairy tale or folklore that one told to young children. Life was a trial, her grandfather had helped her see that, but also to see that it was the trials in life that made or broke people depending on how they decided to handle things. A person didn’t live “happily ever after” just because they married the person who they fell in love with... or because they got something they always wanted. Sure, maybe the largest problem they’d ever face in their life was over after they achieved their goal or married their love, but that didn’t mean it was all roses afterwards. There would always be small bumps in life because no one was perfect. Mika couldn’t imagine how deluded all the demon world must be if someone as educated as her believed such things existed. 

“The point is, if you give me the boys, I will promise you eternal happiness.”

“ _ Eternal happiness? _ ” She nearly spat the words out, nearly laughed at the phrase. 

“That’s right. I have the power to give you anything you desire. Power, men, women, money, fame. Name it and it’s yours. A demon never goes back on their word and I have the power to obtain anything you wish. Our deal is our contract.”  _ Yeah right... the only power you have is over the physical body and sexual desires of others...  _  She scoffed. Yes that was indeed a form of power, as was likely the mind manipulation she had, but there was more to humans that just that. Perhaps Diana could fulfill such a bargain, but why under the heavens did this demon think that she would want anything that had just been offered to her? She stared in utter shock, not at the offer, but at the audacity of this demon who smiled an almost genuine smile at her; shaking her to the reality of the situation. She would never smile like that... not to her anyway. 

“Don’t you wish to be free of your destiny? Your father constantly berating you to become the next CEO of your grandfather’s company?” 

“H-how did you-” She was almost floored. How did Diana know all of that? She was a succubus, yes, but how could she know anything about Mika, herself, beyond sexual desire? She wasn’t Damien after all... Diana chuckled and leaned back against her arms. 

“Just because I play with hearts and sex doesn’t mean I know my way around the human mind. You happen to be an open book of information... but I digress.” Mika frowned a little, if that were true, then why was she bothering to even ask? 

“I can give you your freedom with ease. It’ll be like you were always meant to have it. All I ask is that you hand over the boys. What do you say?” Was she seriously being given this choice? The man she loved for anything she wanted? A demon like Diana was powerful enough, yes, but did she want to even consider giving up the man she loved for such a trivial thing? She looked at Diana, perhaps this demon was crazier than she’d thought previously... or maybe just incredibly stupid. It was hard to say which as she glared.

“Absolutely not.” There was nothing in this world that meant more to her... or even as much... as Matthew did. Diana sighed and stood up on the railing. What Mika wasn’t expecting was that she was lifted up into the air. She tried to scream, but found that her voice was locked in silence; that had to be Diana’s doing. What was she doing?! Diana made her float over to her and smirked as they touched noses. 

“Well, if I can’t return home with the boys... I might as well return home with the power to fight back.” Fight back? She didn’t have a chance to even try and voice the question and Diana leaned forward and kissed her. She shut her eyes, feeling the need to bite her lips, but finding no muscles in her face listening to her mental commands anymore. What had Diana done to her?! She didn’t want to enjoy it, in fact she didn’t despite every single nerve in her body was flaring in excitement and pleasure as Diana kissed her. She felt her energy drain slowly, but forcefully from her body. It wasn’t at all like when she’d been surprised by Sam.... tempted by Erik... or even offered it up freely to Sam. Diana was obviously using her magic to force the energy out of her body. It seemed like forever, but finally, Diana pulled away from the kiss with a smiled and a lick of her lips. She lowered Mika back onto the patio and chuckled. For some reason, even though nothing seemed to have changed, she looked stronger; powerful. It was almost like looking at a new Diana. Was this the power of the energy she had inside her? Was this what Sam might have looked like after taking her energy if she hadn’t passed out? Diana stepped back off of the railing, making her instinctively catch her breath in her throat. As she took another step away, she looked to simply be walking on the night air and smirked at the sudden surprise on Mika’s face. 

“May you never regret your choice, human. If you do, I’ll happily come and take it away.” With a flick of her hair, Diana turned and walked away into the night, fading into the darkness like a shadow. Mika watched her fade away before looking back to the man in her bed. Did she make the right choice? She couldn’t stop the question from forming. Her heart gave a gentle thump as she looked at Sam, answering the question that had formed in her mind. There was no doubt now.

“I did... and I will never regret it for as long as I live...” She spoke, as if speaking to the demoness who was no longer there. She felt chilled now, she walked back inside and gently crawled back into bed and within the embrace of the safest arms she knew. She snuggled close to the warmth, her body slowly warming as it seeped into her, before closing her eyes. She was happy.


	22. The Choice Made

The rest of the story can almost be passed over, really. With Diana gone, my life returned to normal with school and none of my classmates or the teachers remembering what had happened. It was as if magic had never even appeared in my world. It was the normalcy that I had come to expect even before the boys had come into my life. One thing was for certain, however: Sam loved me and I loved him just as much. We had promised our lives to each other and nothing was going to take that away from us, not even time itself... as I had come to learn from grandfather’s journals there was a spell that could overcome that, more or less, by tying our two souls together so that where one went, the other would follow. Our love was so powerful, it practically overwhelmed me with joy every time I found him holding me close every morning. Every time he looked my way I felt a thrill of happiness. Even just hearing his voice.  To think: a demon in love with a human like me. It was unthinkable, unbelievable. It was practically impossible. But it was true. Eventually the other boys decided to leave of their own accord. They knew that in the future I would only need Sam at my side, so they each decided to start their own lives in the human world. Sam understood perfectly, wishing his brothers the best; besides, Sam had finding someone new to care for now. His brothers didn’t need to worry about him now that he was caring for me. I couldn’t help but feel bad, as well, for being closer to James than the others, but they all reassured me that it was okay and that they would remain nearby should I ever need them. I was happy for that. Even if Sam was the closest to me, I still felt close to the others too, like I had gained a family. They made me promise, however, that I would love James for as long as we lived. That was a promise I gave instantly... but what of my future? Well, it was kinda made for me. Before I even finished the semester, James decided to step into the light of the Anderson Toys Company and, with the help of his demon powers and leadership charisma, he managed to influence not only the entire board, but my father as well into letting him run for CEO. I was beyond shocked to hear all this. How James managed to all that, especially in such a short time, was beyond me, but when the vote was called, James had taken over the company that I was ‘destined’ to have. He vowed to respect the wishes of the late CEO and helped the company become an even grander company. For a demon, it was simple to make a company grand. I didn’t mind, honestly, how things turned out. My grandfather would have been proud to see how James helped it shine. With the CEO position filled, my father had no choice but to let me decide my future, which made me happy beyond compare. No longer would I have the future scaring me into a corner; I could choose my life on my own. That being said, I was still scared of where the future was going to take me. What did I want to do? Did I want to help James build the company? Did I want to venture off on my own? Sam reassured me, even before my classes ended, that he would support me and help me through whatever I decided to do. I was grateful and would never forget that promise. I was happy, and nothing could shake me down from that happiness.

 

One afternoon, a couple of years after the boys and Mika had met, she had a moment to herself; so she wandered her house and took in all that had happened, as if it were all a dream. The demons, the devils, the magic: it was all too surreal to believe. It almost frightened her to think that it could have been all a dream. That it wasn’t real, but the warm feeling in her heart reminded her that it was all real: the demons, the magic, the love she had... all of it was **real** . She smiled to herself as she held her hands to her chest, relishing in the feelings dancing within her heart and soul. She let out a happy sigh before looking up and seeing where she had wondered to. She realized she was standing in the hallway near her bedroom; she guessed she hadn’t wandered far. 

“Jeez, how the hell did I end up here?” She stopped at the sound of Sam’s voice; it sounded distant, but yet clear as day; she looked around only for her eyes to catch sight of an open window. He must be on the roof again; she tiptoed over and listened further, wanting to know what he’d meant.

“It’s been years and I still can’t believe I’m here... Heh, to think I wanted to leave in the first place. I’m such an idiot.” The last bit was said softly, almost too soft to be heard; she smiled as she remembered when they had first met. He was her first kiss after all. 

“Ughh... and I, of course, had the worst first impression ever... Why the hell did I do that?” She stifled her giggles, though she couldn’t stop the smile on her face. He was thinking of that kiss too. It was adorable to hear him reminiscing and mentally slapping himself. 

“Meh, I guess I can’t take back the past... I can only make sure she gets what she deserves from now on.” Huh? What was that supposed to mean? She didn’t understand; he already gave her everything that she wanted. He was practically hers already. What more could he give? 

“Alright, Sam... no more fuck ups. I’ll call up James and learn how to be a proper man. I need to be strong enough to support her no matter what comes our way.” She couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. Sam was willing to change for her? She felt both honored and guilty. She didn’t want him to change and she couldn’t imagine what she might have said or done to make him think that she did. She loved him for him, no one else. It was only right to tell him so; she quickly went to the window and stepped up to grab the rooftop. Thank goodness she had upper body strength. Her sudden hand placements scared Sam.

“W-what the?!” 

“Help me up, Sam!” He looked down at her in surprise before grabbing her arms and lifting her up on the roof with him; however, she landed once again in his lap with his arms around her instead of beside him. 

“What the hell are you doing? And how long were you there?” 

“Long enough to hear everything, Sam. I don’t want you to change.” He stared, looking lost as to what to say at her words, as she caressed his cheek with a smile. It was true. He had faults, sure, but who didn’t? She enjoyed his company and adored every part of his personality. He gently moved his head and buried his face into her palm, closing his eyes and absorbing what she had said. He gently opened his eyes partially, staring past her hand.

“You do realize that I’m a brute, right? That was my nickname in the Abyssal Plains... I’m a brute, a monster... I’m not what someone can really want.” 

“Sam.” He finally looked at her, a look of hopelessness in his eyes. It broke her heart to see him this way. 

“You’re what I want. You’re not a brute and you’re not a monster.” She gently guided his face down with her hand and kissed him softly, reminding him of her touch and reaffirming her words. He stared at her as if his greatest wish had come true. She had to fight back a giggle at the sight. He gently pulled her to him, hugging her to his chest; she nuzzled into his chest, hearing his gentle heartbeat and memorizing it's tempo. Then he did something she didn’t expect, he began to sing.

“You’ve chained the monster deep inside this sick and sinful body of mine...”

“You know the song?” Sam chuckled softly, the sound of his laughter sent happy waves down her spine. He smiled down at her and kissed the top of her head. 

“It’s your ringtone, doofus. I’ve practically memorized it.” She felt a little touched that he would remember that and would know it simply for that reason alone; she smiled and giggled up at him. It was adorable to see him like this. Feeling bold, she straightened up to tower over him a little.

“Hey, what are you...?” She simply smiled before kissing Sam’s forehead, then very gently over his eyelids.

“I love you, Sam.” He held her and closed his eyes; she could tell that he didn’t want to let her go. 

“I love you too.” 

 

I didn’t want to wake up if all this was a dream. I felt light as a feather, not wanting to ever let go of this man in my life. There are no words that could describe the emotions within me. I felt joy,  happiness, ecstatic, high... all at once. Here I was, holding the man I would be with forever, under the beautiful orange sky on the roof of my mansion. I had gained the heart of a demon- no, of a man I loved. I vowed to cherish him and love him for the remainder of my days and beyond. Could a demon love a human forever? I knew Sam would. And, even if they don’t exist really... that was my “happily ever after.”


	23. Extra - Shall We Dance?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the epilogue to Sam's route. Enjoy! :)

It had been two years. Two years since my grandfather passed away. Two years since I met the boys... Two years since Sam and I shared our first kiss. It may have been forced, yes, but he was still my first and my last. I grew to love this man and held no doubt about my affections for him. He might have seemed intimidating to some, but inside he was a sweetheart and was as gentle as a feather. I felt warm every time I thought of him, a smile following after. 

 

“Sam...” As his image appeared in her mind, her heart fluttered; Sam had decided to join the police force and he had used his handcuffs very well... Embarrassment aside, he would always come home proud to have caught a criminal or stopped a fight. She was so proud of him and always praised him enough to make him go red in the face. He was so cute like that! He would always smile, though, in the end. He cherished her beyond anything else in the world. She was happy and she never wanted her story to end. No surprises. No problems. On a day off, though, something surprised her. She was cleaning the kitchen, humming her favorite Rise of the Phoenix song to herself. Dinner was quick, but having a clean kitchen was important. As she worked her mind wandered to what had happened at dinner. It was peaceful, but Sam barely said a word to her. It might have been because he was tired, but he was usually a lot more vocal at dinner time. What made today different? Just as she finished cleaning the last utensil, something zipped past her like lightning. She looked back and tried to see from her memory if she could pin a detail on the fast-moving shadow, but she came up with only one answer.

“Sam?” No reply. It had to be Sam, though; who else would do that? Who else would even be in the home? She quickly washed her hands and tried to run in the direction that the shadow had run towards, heading into the dining room. She gasped slightly.

“What the...?” Draped over a chair was a sign. From the handwriting she could tell that it was Sam. He’d tried to write legibly enough for his message to get across. He still had some work to do, but she read the sign as best as she could. 

“You have a surprise in your room.” A surprise? What was going on? Was this some kind of booty call? Or was this a trick? 

“Sam, what are you up to?” She murmured to herself as she decided to go along with this. What was waiting for her? Would it be a desperate Sam? Would it be a gift of some sort? This wasn’t like Sam at all, and yet it had Sam written all over it... almost literally actually. He had practically wrote the sign himself after all. She walked through the lobby and headed upstairs to her room. She felt a pair of eyes watching her, but she ignored it; if Sam was watching, then he’d watch her follow his directions to the, roughly, written letter. She noticed her bedroom door was closed, despite that she’d left it open the last time she’d left it. Odd. She slowly opened it, mentally preparing for anything... or so she thought. She wasn’t prepared enough for what was there. A beautiful jade colored dress was laid out on her bed; it gently glimmered in the light of the room, showing the grace of its regal fabric and design. It looked like a princess gown, yet it was definitely a modern dress. It was like a large prom dress, but she wasn’t going to prom. Stepping further into the room, she notice that the night stand was covered in different jewelry and accessories. On the floor nearby was a pair of gorgeous jade hells that sparkled in the light, much like the dress they matched. 

“Sam, if you’re around, what is going on?” She hoped that he was nearby to hear her, but even if he was she didn’t receive a reply. 

“Sam, what is going on?” She asked again, but there was still no reply. This was beyond anything that Sam would do. She could never imagine him buying this for her; yet her heart fluttered at the thought possibly being very true. Her mind began to imagine him seeing her in the dress. His face would turn red and he would give her that silly grin and call her pretty. Her lips curled into a very happy smile at the fantasy thought. Whatever was going on, it was obvious that she was meant to wear this; she stepped to the dress and gently lifted it up. It was perfectly made for her; the tailoring wa custom and there was no tag on the collar. She blushed wildly.  

“When did...” What distracted her from finishing that thought was a note that fell out of the dress and onto the floor. She quickly picked it up; again, it was in Sam’s sloppy writing. 

“Please get dressed and wait to be escorted back downstairs.” Escorted? Well... okay. She set the note on the bed, what did that mean though? Were they going somewhere? The whole thing left her with so many questions that she began to rethink following the shadow from the kitchen, it was a brief thing though. 

“He’d better explain at the end of all this...” She murmured as she got dressed as the note had said. As expected, the dress was perfect; form-fitting and princess like. A quick zip and suddenly she was royalty. She looked at herself in the mirror and couldn’t stop staring for a moment. She really did look regal. 

“Whoa...” She’d heard the phrase “clothes make the man” before, but she’d never really imagined how that could be true until now. How was she able to look like this from simply putting on a dress? She turned towards the jewelry and accessories, adding to the dress a simple silver jade pendant and a set of clip-on emerald earrings before she put on the heels. She felt that the world around her was almost too dream like to be real. As if she had stepped out of reality. This was from Sam? A gentle knock on the door got her attention and she opened the door and stared. James, dressed in his servant tuxedo, greeted her and held out an arm to her. He was in on this too? Were any of the others? 

“James, what’s going on?” He didn’t reply, simply smiling at her and nodding for her to take his arm. She slowly took it, now even more curious as to what was happening. He guided her to the lobby where Erik, Matthew and Damien were waiting for them; they were also dressed in their respective tuxedos as well, she gripped James’ arm a little tighter, she was suddenly very nervous. What was all this about?! What. Was. Going. On? Mika stepped down the stairs with James before he left her side and joined his brothers. Everything was slowly becoming like some fairy tale dream and her mind had a hard time wrapping around all of it. Before she could speak, though, the boys bowed their heads and raised their arms towards the dining room archway. She turned her head and gasped. Dressed in an extremely handsome silver and green  prince garb was Sam, staring at her with both a surprised expression and a blush on his cheeks. She felt a blush rush onto her own face at the sight of him. He looked  _ incredibly _ handsome and her heart began to race just from looking at him. This had to be a dream. Sam gulped silently before walking over and holding out his hand to her. She stared at it, then slowly reached out and placed her hand in his. He smiled before gently bringing it to his lips. She could feel that his hand was quivering. Why?

“You look amazing, heh...” She stared at him as he looked at her with his lips on her knuckles. Her blush grew hotter, making him chuckle softly and lean back up straight. He didn’t let go of her hand, however, and gently pulled her towards him. She looked up at him as he smiled and rested a hand on her waist, lifting the hand he was holding to rest beside them. She naturally rested a hand on his shoulder, raising an eyebrow. The music started to play. It was a song she recognized and it had become Sam’s personal favorite, only plucked out on the piano. She looked over in the direction of the sound, barely able to see Erik playing a portable piano in the corner of the room before feeling Sam tighten his grip on her, making her look back to him.

“Well, shall we dance?” She stared, telling every single dancing nerve in her body that this was, indeed, real, before nodding to Sam. Like a fairy tale, the two of them began to dance in almost perfect unison. He gently guided her around the lobby, waltzing with her with a tender smile on his face; she couldn’t help but smile back despite her mind being completely lost in what was going on. His smile always made everything okay. Each step they took was perfectly timed with the music; she didn’t doubt Sam had these skills because he was an incubus, yet it seemed so uncharacteristic of him to be able to be so... prince-like. 

“Sam, what is going on?” 

“We’re dancing. What does it look like, doofus?” That wasn’t what she’d meant.

“We’re dancing, yes, but-” Before she could continue, the room slowly began to melt and get darker. Same kept leading her through the dance as the room around them began to turn into the night sky. The stars were brilliantly lit with the moon being the largest light in the sky. She felt herself grip Sam tighter before looking around in wonder. They were dancing in the sky, under the light of the moon; their feet touched the air as if it was merely the floor as they waltzed to the echoed music. At a thought, she slightly looked down to see the mansion far below them. They were  _ very _ high up in the sky. She couldn’t help but tighten her grip again onto Sam, who chuckled in response. 

“Sam!” It wasn’t that she had a fear of heights, but this was a bit much... 

“What?” 

“W-we’re in the -”

“We’re in the sky. Yes, I know, doofus.”  

“But what if-”

“I promise, I won’t let you fall.” She looked up at him to see a serious expression; their dance became a simple sway as he gently moved the hand that was on her waist to caress her cheek. She naturally closed her eyes and nuzzled into his gloved hand.

“I would never let you fall. I’ll be by your side, always. I’ll protect you with my life...” She trusted him and because of it, she felt her fears ease. His words echoed through her, making her heart feel warm and light. She felt incredibly happy that he was like this. She almost didn’t want to ask anymore about what was happening. Everything seemed too perfect that even the smallest doubt might break this dream. She didn’t want this dream to end if it was one. Sam gently led her back into a dance, smiling once again. 

“Where did you learn how to dance?” He let out a small laugh and twirled her before returning her close to him and back into the steps of their waltz. 

“James taught me. It took forever, trust me, but I think I got it. It’s not too hard.” 

“You’re an amazing dancer.” Her words rendered him speechless. He stared down at her and blushed while trying to continue the dance. 

“You’re so important to me, you know?” 

“And you’re important to me, Sam.” 

“I mean it, though. No one else has ever made me feel this way. Ever. I never even thought I’d be like this but...” 

“Sam?” She asked after a moment’s silence. He slowly stopped the dance, letting them stand in the night sky like nothing else mattered. Sam stared down at Mika, a look of pure seriousness on his face. 

“I... I love you so much, alright? You make me feel like a man... not a monster... You’re so friggen important to me... I just...” Her heart beat faster than she thought possible at his words. Sam gently lifted her chin and leaned down, laying his forehead against hers. 

“I want to be worthy of you.”

“You are, Sam... I love you too.” He closed his eyes and smiled, she could feel her heart warm and her eyes began to water a little. He was everything that she had always dreamt of, everything she wanted, everything she needed. She loved him. Sam slowly lifted her left hand and kissed over her ring finger; for a second, she heard him growl slightly before whispering.

“Man... Screw human tradition. I’m a demon.”

“Huh?” She watched as Sam kissed the back of her hand, then over her wrist; she could feel her energy gently circle and vibrate at the touch of his lips. She watched as subtle green marks began to draw themselves over her hand, almost like watercolor pain, as chains. They circled around her wrist and continued to circle around her hand. Once, twice, three times. At the fourth, it wrapped around the base of her ring finger. The marks began to glow gently before fading into her skin and on her ring finger appeared a gold ring with emeralds and diamonds. It glistened in the moonlight, glimmering its brilliant shine at the many stars that surrounded them. She looked up at Sam who had a small smirk on his face. 

“If you don’t say yes to marrying me, I’ll never forgive you.” It all hit her all at once and she instantly began to cry, feeling her entire body warm in utter joy. Sam held her hands to his chest, the smirk melting into a genuine smile. 

“But yeah... will you marry me? I want to be yours and have you as my own forever... I know I’m not on one knee or whatever, but I’m a friggen demon so like-” She didn’t let him finish as she jumped up and wrapped her arms around him, kissing him deeply. He gasped against her lips before slowly wrapping his arms around her and kissing her back just as deeply. Every ounce of his love showed itself to her in that kiss. She felt like s he was in heaven, just kissing him and being in his arms. He was who she wanted to be with and she would continue to love him and be his for the rest of their days. As they gently pulled away, Mika smiled, tears still gently rolling down her cheeks. 

“Yes, Sam. I will marry you.” He smiled wildly before hugging her close. His embrace was tight and she could fell him almost shudder in pure joy. He was as happy as she was. 

“I love you.” 

“I love you, too.” 

  
And that was my “happily ever after.”


End file.
